It was announced Monday afternoon that Mali’s ruling military has broken its defense accords with France. The announcement was the latest sign of failing relations between France and Mali. The military claimed France had committed “flagrant violations” of its national sovereignty through its troops stationed in the country.
Spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said French forces have violated the country’s airspace on numerous occasions, and that the government has seen a large deterioration of cooperation between France and the military. The agreements broken by this announcement were put in place for France’s intervention in Mali in 2014. In 2015, France had deployed large numbers of troops to assist Mali’s army against an offensive by armed groups. Large amounts of Mali land lie beyond government control due to armed group activity after 2012 which has spread to Burkina Faso and Niger over the years.
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