In a context of continued deterioration in relations between Paris and Bamako, two members of the French Embassy in Mali were arrested on Thursday in Bamako and released on Friday, September 16, several diplomatic sources reported.
The two members of the embassy, of French nationality, were arrested Thursday in the middle of the day in the city center, while they were taking photos of a football field intended to serve as a gathering point for French nationals in case of forced evacuation, according to a French diplomat in Bamako.
They were “released Friday morning after fruitful exchanges between the two parties”said this French source. “Two embassy agents were briefly detained by the Malian authorities. They were released after discussions between the embassy and the Malian authorities. We have no further comment to make”, also said the Quai d’Orsay in Paris. A Malian diplomatic source confirmed the information:
“For security reasons, two French nationals arrested and initially suspected of spying have been released. The necessary checks have been made. »
Reactivation of ties with Russia
The information began to circulate overnight from Thursday to Friday on social networks, where several pages reputed to be close to the transitional authorities published that “two French spies” had been arrested. Relations between Mali and its sub-regional and Western partners have gradually deteriorated since the 2020 putsch which resulted in the establishment of a military junta.
Bamako has turned away from France with acrimony and vigorously reactivated its historical ties with Moscow in an attempt to stem the jihadist wave that is ravaging the country. The French have just completed their gradual military withdrawal from the country after nine years of engagement.
This brief arrest also comes in a tense diplomatic context between Bamako and Abidjan over the fate of forty-six Ivorian soldiers detained for more than two months in Mali.