Overview

• Two Malian diplomats have been declared persona non grata and were ordered to leave France by Saturday, according to a French diplomatic source.
• Malian authorities responded by declaring five staff members of the French embassy in Bamako persona non grata, though those individuals had already departed on Sunday.
• The French Foreign Ministry denounced Mali’s espionage allegations as unfounded and demanded the immediate release of the detained French national.
• France warned that additional measures would follow if its embassy employee is not freed quickly.
• The suspension halts limited counterterrorism and intelligence coordination that had persisted even as Mali’s junta accused foreign states of destabilization and aligned more closely with Russia.