The Malian authorities declared on Monday that the country is pulling out of the existing defense accords with France, citing “flagrant violations” of its sovereignty by French forces deployed in Mali.
The military government in Bamako had repeatedly warned Paris that it could end military cooperation between the two countries.
In a televised address on Monday, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga explained the move by saying: “for some time now, the government of the Republic of Mali notes with regret a profound deterioration in military cooperation with France.” Among other things, Maiga mentioned France’s decision to end joint operations with the Malian military last June, as well as Macron’s announcement in February that Paris was withdrawing its troops.
He went on to cite several cases of what he described as violations of Mali’s sovereignty by French forces.
In April, Bamako claimed that French drones had violated Mali’s airspace to spy on its military dozens of times since the start of the year.
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