Mali’s junta-led government has arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of participating in an alleged plot to destabilise the country.
- Mali’s government, under a military junta, arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of a plot to destabilise the country.
- The detained include General Abass Dembele, with authorities claiming the conspiracy was thwarted and 11 people were taken into custody.
- Mali has faced over a decade of instability due to Islamist insurgencies and coups since 2020, which have shifted power to the junta.
Mali’s junta-led government has arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of participating in an alleged plot to destabilise the country, according to a government statement.
Those detained include General Abass Dembele, former governor of the central Mopti region, and Yann Vezilier, a French citizen, the junta said.
The ministry statement accused Vezilier of acting on behalf of French intelligence services to mobilise political and civil society figures and military officers.
Minister for Security and Civil Protection General Daoud Aly Mohammedine said that the “conspiracy was thwarted” and that 11 people were taken into custody on August 1.
Mali has endured over a decade of turmoil marked by Islamist insurgencies in its arid north, along with political instability that culminated in a series of coups in 2020 and 2021 that brought the current president, General Assimi Goita, to power.
Goita’s junta tightens power grip
Since assuming power, the junta has cracked down on political opponents and mining executives, banned political parties, and shifted towards closer ties with Russia, Turkey, and Iran, turning away from traditional Western allies such as the US and France.
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Under pressure from Mali’s new leadership, US and France withdrew their troops from the country, ending years of joint operations against Islamist militants.
The latest arrests come after two former prime ministers were detained: Moussa Mara, who accused the junta of worsening Mali’s debt through regional borrowing, and Choguel Kokalla Maiga, held on charges of embezzling public funds.
Mali, along with regional allies Niger and Burkina Faso, is still struggling with Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands since 2012.
