Mali, the West African country, has become alert on the security side. Foreign affairs minister Abdoulaye Diop said on Tuesday that the military government will exercise its right to self-defense if France continues to undermine the country’s territorial sovereignty and security.
Mali alleges of security threat from France
In a speech given at the United Nations Security Council briefing in New York, Abdoulaye Diop talked about violation of Mali’s security laws. He alleged France of violating Malian airspace and delivering weapons to Islamist militants. He also highlighted the fact that these deliveries are endangering and weakening the country for the past 10 years. France has denied all these allegations and instead called its involvement in Mali as “fully transparent”.
“There needs to be a specific meeting of the Security Council which will make it possible for us to bring to light evidence regarding duplicitous acts, acts of espionage, and acts of destabilization waged by France,” the foreign affairs minister said.
“The government of Mali reserves the right to exercise its right to self-defense… if France continues to undermine the sovereignty of our country and to undermine its territorial integrity and its national security,” he added.
France and Mali have witnessed friction in relations since a coup in August 2020 and as a result, France has been withdrawing its troops deployed in 2013. Mali has been facing Islamist militancy since 2012 when they seized a Tuareg rebellion in the North. In the last two years, the West African country has witnessed two military coups.
A military government seized power in August 2020 and escalated problems with France. The latter had dispatched troops to its former colony in what many perceived to be an effort to maintain its influence on the nation.
Mali accused of human rights violation
Abdoulaye Diop rejected the accusations of violations of human rights by the Malian army that the UN and other countries reported. The UN and other countries had accused soldiers in Mali of torturing and killing civilians suspected to be connected with jihadists.
Terming the accusations as “unfounded” and warning against “instrumentalizing” human rights issues, Diop emphasized that the removal of foreign troops will not produce a security vacancy.
Germany’s surveillance patrols in eastern Mali were halted on September 19 according to a military announcement because it was unable to secure flyover rights. Jihadist forces have since moved further east, capturing territory, killing hundreds of people while uprooting 1,000 more.
On Monday, a separate attack in northern Mali claimed the lives of four UN personnel.
Two months back, in a letter to the UN, Mali had insinuated that France has violated its airspace and delivered arms to Islamist militants in an attempt to destabilize the West African country.
