Mali’s security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, announced the arrest last Thursday evening following days of rumours that Malian military officials had been arrested. The minister said: “The situation is completely under control.” “The transitional government informs the national public of the arrest of a small group of marginal elements of the Malian armed and security forces for criminal offences aimed at destabilising the institutions of the republic,” Mohammedine said on national news. “The conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved,” he said, adding that the plot began on August 1.

“These soldiers and civilians” had obtained “the help of foreign states”, Mali’s military said in a statement, adding that a French national – identified as Yann Christian Bernard Vezilier – was held on suspicion of working “on behalf of the French intelligence service”. The security minister said the Frenchman acted “on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel” in Mali.

Images shared on social media of the alleged French spying suspect featured a white man in his 50s wearing a white shirt and appearing somewhat alarmed. National television also broadcast photos of 11 people it said were members of the group that planned the coup. The security minister also identified two Malian generals he said were part of the plot.

One of the suspects, General Abass Dembele, is a former governor of the country’s central Mopti region, who was abruptly dismissed in May when he demanded an investigation into allegations that the Malian army killed civilians in the village of Diafarabe. The second general, Nema Sagara, was previously lauded for her role in fighting rebel groups in 2012. Security sources told the AFP news agency that at least 55 soldiers had been arrested, and authorities said they were working to identify “possible accomplices”.

Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, as well as local criminal gangs. The country’s military rulers, led by President Assimi Goita, have in recent years turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, and aligned politically and militarily with Russia in the name of national sovereignty. In June, Goita was granted an additional five years in power, despite the military’s earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. (Al Jazeera)