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Prime Minister Maiga said French troops created an enclave in northern Mali and handed it over to the “terrorist group” Ansar al-Din.
Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga told Russian media he had evidence that France had formed “terrorist” groups operating in the West African country.
Maiga said French troops created an enclave in Kidal, a town in the desert region of northern Mali, and handed it over to a “terrorist group” known as Ansar al-Din, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda. He said the Malian army had been banned from entering the territory.
“Mali does not have access to Kidal, it is an enclave controlled by France,” Russia Today reported, citing Maiga’s interview with state-owned RIA Novosti on Friday.
“They have armed groups trained by French officers. We have proof… We do not understand this situation and do not want to tolerate it.
Maiga added that the groups “came from Libya”.
The statement comes days after Mali summoned the French ambassador to the country to express its “outrage” at recent criticism by French President Emmanuel Macron of the country’s government, dominated by prominent figures from the country. army.
In June, France decided to significantly reduce its deployment in the Sahel following a military takeover in Mali in August 2020, which forced President-elect Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the August coup, installed an interim government led by civilians. But he then deposed the leaders of this government last May in a second coup.
Mali has accused France of abandoning this West African country following its decision to reduce its military deployment in the semi-arid region of the Sahel.
Tensions between France and its former colony, Mali, have escalated since reports last month that the Sahel state was about to hire 1,000 paramilitaries from Russian private security company Wagner for the help in its fight against groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIL).
The French government said that despite the planned withdrawal of its troops, it remained militarily engaged in the fight against the armed uprising in the Sahel.
France intervened in Mali in 2013 after armed rebels took control of the north the previous year. Since then, Paris has deployed thousands of troops in the Sahel region to fight the armed uprising.
Despite its military presence, violence has spread to central Mali and to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
In Mali, thousands of people have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced, while entire swathes of the country have little or no state presence.
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