\n \u201cDiscussions are underway to clear up any misunderstanding\u201d and to secure the \u201cimmediate release\u201d of the French embassy employee in Bamako, the ministry said.\n <\/p>\n
\n The statement further stressed that the detained diplomat was covered by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which means he should be released.\n <\/p>\n
Bamako claims French involvement in unrest<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n In a statement released on Thursday, Mali\u2019s ruling junta accused the detained French national of being an intelligence operative tasked with recruiting soldiers and civil society figures to undermine the state.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n Authorities in Bamako alleged that the man had been working for French intelligence services and claimed that \u201cforeign states\u201d were attempting to destabilise the country.\n <\/p>\n \n The junta further announced that dozens of Malian soldiers had been taken into custody on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government, underscoring its heightened concerns about internal dissent and external interference.\n <\/p>\n \n Mali has endured more than a decade of political turmoil and violence<\/a>, beginning with Islamist insurgencies in the north and deepening through cycles of instability that culminated in two coups in 2020 and 2021.\n <\/p>\n \n Those upheavals ultimately brought General Assimi Go\u00efta to power, consolidating military rule in Bamako.\n <\/p>\n