France was in discussions with Mali over the arrest of a French embassy employee in Bamako, the French foreign ministry said Saturday, noting that the claims, by Malian authorities, that the Frenchman was working to “destabilise” the country were “unjustified”.<\/p>\n
France<\/a>‘s foreign ministry said Saturday that it was in talks with Mali<\/a> over the arrest of a Frenchman accused of working with intelligence services to “destabilise” the country, calling the claims “unjustified”.<\/p>\n “Discussions are underway to clear up any misunderstanding” and obtain the “immediate release” of the French embassy employee in Bamako, the ministry said.<\/p>\n Mali authorities said Thursday that the French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for the French intelligence services, and accused “foreign states” of trying to destabilise the country.<\/p>\n The West African country’s ruling junta, which came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, also said that dozens of soldiers had been detained for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government.<\/p>\n France’s foreign ministry said the arrested employee was covered by the Vienna convention on consular relations, meaning he should be released.<\/p>\n Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group, as well as local criminal gangs.<\/p>\n