Mali has accused France of violating its airspace and arming Islamist rebels in an effort to destabilise the West African nation.&nbsp;

Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's minister of foreign affairs, said in a letter to the head of the United Nations Security Council dated Monday that the country's airspace had been violated more than 50 times this year, largely by French forces using drones, military helicopters, and fighter jets.

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The letter claims that these incursions were used to arm "terrorist groups".

However, Mali did not present any proof to support the claims.

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"These flagrant violations of Malian airspace were used by France to collect information for terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition to them."

The French Embassy in Mali responded by taking to Twitter, and saying that "France has obviously never supported, directly or indirectly, these terrorist groups, which remain its designated enemies across the planet."

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[𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃] 𝟏) 𝐋𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐮 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑 𝐞𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐚̀ 𝐥𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞́𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬.
— La France au Mali (@FranceauMali) <a href="https://twitter.com/FranceauMali/status/1559986029456756736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
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It claimed that during its nine-year campaign in Mali, 53 French soldiers had perished and that France had killed hundreds of Islamist fighters to increase security for Malians.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;Al-Qaeda affiliate claims attack on key military base near Mali's capital

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The allegations bring the relationship between the two nations to a new low as France withdraws its last troops from Mali.

When in 2013 French forces drove out Islamist extremists from the north of Mali, including the legendary city of Timbuktu, they were hailed as heroes.&nbsp;However, a slew of setbacks and continuous militant attacks have strained ties, which have gotten worse after a military coup ousted the government in 2020 followed by an interim civilian cabinet.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Mali has accused France of violating its airspace and arming Islamist rebels in an effort to destabilise the West African nation. Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's minister of foreign affairs, said in a letter to the head of the United Nations Security Council dated Monday that the country's airspace had been violated more than 50 times this year, largely by French forces using drones, military helicopters, and fighter jets.

Mali has accused France of violating its airspace and arming Islamist rebels in an effort to destabilise the West African nation. Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's minister of foreign affairs, said in a letter to the head of the United Nations Security Council dated Monday that the country's airspace had been violated more than 50 times this year, largely by French forces using drones, military helicopters, and fighter jets. Also read | International community is ignoring Tigray because of 'colour of the skin of the people': WHO chief The letter claims that these incursions were used to arm "terrorist groups". However, Mali did not present any proof to support the claims. Also read | Bible, Anne Frank's diary, and several other books pulled from the shelves in Texas "These flagrant violations of Malian airspace were used by France to collect information for terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition to them." The French Embassy in Mali responded by taking to Twitter, and saying that "France has obviously never supported, directly or indirectly, these terrorist groups, which remain its designated enemies across the planet." [𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃] 𝟏) 𝐋𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐮 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑 𝐞𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐚̀ 𝐥𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞́𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬. — La France au Mali (@FranceauMali) August 17, 2022 × It claimed that during its nine-year campaign in Mali, 53 French soldiers had perished and that France had killed hundreds of Islamist fighters to increase security for Malians. Watch | Al-Qaeda affiliate claims attack on key military base near Mali's capital The allegations bring the relationship between the two nations to a new low as France withdraws its last troops from Mali. When in 2013 French forces drove out Islamist extremists from the north of Mali, including the legendary city of Timbuktu, they were hailed as heroes. However, a slew of setbacks and continuous militant attacks have strained ties, which have gotten worse after a military coup ousted the government in 2020 followed by an interim civilian cabinet. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Mali accuses France of arming Islamic terrorists seeking to destabilise nation

After Mali accused the French Army of spying using drones to film a military base, France alleged mercenaries were burying bodies in it as the junta said France did not have a "legal basis" for carrying out military operations in the country.

The country's foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said it will be ending the 2014 defence cooperation agreement with France.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/despite-the-ukraine-war-russian-gas-supplies-to-china-soar-by-60-in-2022-report-476197">Also Read |&nbsp;Russian gas supplies to China soar by 60% in 2022: Report</a>

"So, as of May 2, the agreement covering Barkhane and the agreement covering Takuba cease taking an effect with regard to Mali which means that as of this moment, there is no legal basis for France to operate on Malian soil," Diop said.

France had deployed fighter planes and drones Barkhane operation as allies fought the jihadists. However, relations between France and Bamako began to slide after a coup as officers seized power in 2020 while toppling&nbsp;Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

France had earlier decided to pull out troops from Mali including a special forces unit. France however said Mali's decision on ending the military cooperation agreement was&nbsp;"unjustified".

The junta had earlier accussed the French forces of "illegally" flying a drone over Gossi base as French forces handed it back to Mali.

France later claimed Russian mercenaries were covering bodies to accuse the French of war crimes as Mali's military ordered an inquiry into mass graves found at the Gossi base.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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After Mali accused the French Army of spying using drones to film a military base, France alleged mercenaries were burying bodies in it as the junta said France did not have a "legal basis" for carrying out military operations in the country.

After Mali accused the French Army of spying using drones to film a military base, France alleged mercenaries were burying bodies in it as the junta said France did not have a "legal basis" for carrying out military operations in the country. The country's foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said it will be ending the 2014 defence cooperation agreement with France. Also Read | Russian gas supplies to China soar by 60% in 2022: Report "So, as of May 2, the agreement covering Barkhane and the agreement covering Takuba cease taking an effect with regard to Mali which means that as of this moment, there is no legal basis for France to operate on Malian soil," Diop said. France had deployed fighter planes and drones Barkhane operation as allies fought the jihadists. However, relations between France and Bamako began to slide after a coup as officers seized power in 2020 while toppling Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. France had earlier decided to pull out troops from Mali including a special forces unit. France however said Mali's decision on ending the military cooperation agreement was "unjustified". The junta had earlier accussed the French forces of "illegally" flying a drone over Gossi base as French forces handed it back to Mali. France later claimed Russian mercenaries were covering bodies to accuse the French of war crimes as Mali's military ordered an inquiry into mass graves found at the Gossi base. (With inputs from Agencies) Watch WION LIVE Here Decode the geostrategy, diplomacy, and ideologies of the world’s unending wars. Catch our special series ‘World at War’ every Saturday at 8:30 PM IST and Sunday at 10:30 PM IST only on WION.

After drone spying row, Mali to exit defence pact with France

France announced Friday that it will resume joint military operations in Mali, after suspending them early last month following the West African country's second coup in less than a year.

Following consultations with the Malian transitional authorities and the countries of the region France has "decided to resume joint military operations as well as national advisory missions, which had been suspended since June 3", the armed forces minister said in a statement.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-freezes-military-ties-with-central-african-republic-390252">France freezes military ties with Central African Republic</a>

Last month's decision to suspend the joint operations came after Mali's military strongman Assimi Goita, who led last year's coup, ousted the country's civilian transitional president and prime minister.

That move sparked diplomatic uproar, prompting the United States to suspend security assistance for Malian security forces and for the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend Mali.

Both Mali and France play key roles in the fight against a bloody jihadist insurgency plaguing the Sahel region.

France has around 5,100 troops in the Sahel under its Barkhane operation which spans five countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-seeks-exit-strategy-from-mali-after-eight-year-campaign-354843">France seeks exit strategy from Mali after eight-year campaign</a>

On June 10, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major drawdown of France's military presence in the Sahel where forces have been battling jihadist insurgents for nearly a decade.

Macron said the existing Barkhane operation would end, with France's presence becoming part of the so-called Takuba international task force in which "hundreds" of French soldiers would form the backbone.

That Takuba force currently numbers about 600 troops, half of whom are French.&nbsp;

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Romania and Sweden have also pledged to participate.

"France remains fully engaged, with its European and American allies, alongside the Sahel countries and international missions" to fight the jihadist groups which are rife in the Sahel, the armed forces ministry said in its statement on Friday.

France announced Friday that it will resume joint military operations in Mali, after suspending them early last month following the West African country's second coup in less than a year.

France announced Friday that it will resume joint military operations in Mali, after suspending them early last month following the West African country's second coup in less than a year. Following consultations with the Malian transitional authorities and the countries of the region France has "decided to resume joint military operations as well as national advisory missions, which had been suspended since June 3", the armed forces minister said in a statement. Also read | France freezes military ties with Central African Republic Last month's decision to suspend the joint operations came after Mali's military strongman Assimi Goita, who led last year's coup, ousted the country's civilian transitional president and prime minister. That move sparked diplomatic uproar, prompting the United States to suspend security assistance for Malian security forces and for the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend Mali. Both Mali and France play key roles in the fight against a bloody jihadist insurgency plaguing the Sahel region. France has around 5,100 troops in the Sahel under its Barkhane operation which spans five countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Also read | France seeks exit strategy from Mali after eight-year campaign On June 10, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major drawdown of France's military presence in the Sahel where forces have been battling jihadist insurgents for nearly a decade. Macron said the existing Barkhane operation would end, with France's presence becoming part of the so-called Takuba international task force in which "hundreds" of French soldiers would form the backbone. That Takuba force currently numbers about 600 troops, half of whom are French. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Romania and Sweden have also pledged to participate. "France remains fully engaged, with its European and American allies, alongside the Sahel countries and international missions" to fight the jihadist groups which are rife in the Sahel, the armed forces ministry said in its statement on Friday.

France resumes joint military operations with Mali

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Mali accuses France of arming Islamic terrorists seeking to destabilise nation

After drone spying row, Mali to exit defence pact with France

France resumes joint military operations with Mali