France on Thursday denied accusations by Mali's foreign minister that the French army has provided support to Islamist groups and violated Malian airspace. Mali's relations with Paris have been deteriorating since a junta took power in an August 2020 coup, eventually culminating in the withdrawal of French troops that was completed on Monday after a nearly decade-long mission.
The accusations mark a new low in relations amid reports that Russian mercenaries hired by Mali's military government were flocking to fill the power vacuum left by French troops leaving the country, prompting new worries among Western powers over the security situation in the Sahel region.
