France’s Foreign Ministry says a French national arrested in Mali on charges of plotting a coup is actually an embassy employee, calling the accusations “unfounded.”
The ministry confirmed on Saturday that Yann Vezilier had been detained in recent weeks alongside two Malian generals and other officers. Paris insists the arrest violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and says it is pushing for Vezilier’s “immediate release” while working with Bamako to “clear up any misunderstanding.”
Mali’s security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, announced Vezilier’s arrest on Thursday, alleging he had links to French intelligence and was mobilising political, civil society, and military figures to destabilise the country. He said a full investigation was under way and stressed that “the situation is completely under control.”
The case adds to the growing rift between Mali’s military government and France. Once close partners, relations collapsed after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. President Assimi Goita’s junta has since expelled French troops and turned to Russia for security support, even as the country continues to face attacks from armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
Earlier this year, Goita extended his rule for another five years, abandoning earlier promises to return Mali to civilian leadership by 2024. Political parties were dissolved in May, tightening the junta’s grip on power.
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