Two soldiers of the French Embassy stationed in the Malian capital and benefiting from diplomatic protection were arrested on Thursday, before being released at the end of the morning.
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Bamako and Paris have again approached the diplomatic crisis. Thursday, September 15, two soldiers of the French Embassy stationed in the Malian capital were arrested, before being released late Friday morning. If the incident now seems closed, it illustrates the climate of persistent tension between France and Mali, whose relations have continued to deteriorate since the coming to power in Bamako of the military following two blows of State of August 2020 and May 2021.
According to several French diplomatic sources, the two liaison agents working with the defense attaché of the embassy, in particular responsible for ensuring the security of the French settled in Bamako, had left on Thursday, carry out “a mission of ‘Safety risk assessment “in the city center of the capital. Arrived near a private school welcoming many children of French expatriates, the two soldiers took photos of a vacant lot, supposed to serve as a gathering point for French nationals in the event of forced evacuation.
“While they photographed it, a crowd of young people formed around them. Malian soldiers were nearby. As one of their military bases is next, the latter arrested them, thinking that ‘They were spying on their camp. There was confusion. After verifying their phones, they were released. It is a simple misunderstanding, “said a French diplomatic source.
Diplomatic protection
In the wake of their arrest, people and associations deemed close to the junta had seized the case by welcoming themselves on the social networks of arrest “thanks to the patriotism of the Malian population”, of these Two French people, described “white spies”. At the French Embassy as at the Quai d’Orsay, the nervousness then mounted a notch.
The two agents, benefiting from their status as diplomatic protection, should not have been arrested and even less retained at the Directorate General of Malian State Security (DGSE). “Their presence was known to the authorities. They had the necessary diplomatic documents and acted in a legal and transparent framework,” said the Ministry of Defense.
Some diplomats feared a “hostage taking” orchestrated by the junta. The current diplomatic crisis between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali around the fate of 46 Ivorian soldiers, held by the junta since July 10 and considered by Abidjan as “hostages”, fueling concern.
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