Mali threatens to defend against French sovereignty violations

FILE PHOTO: Mali's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdoulaye Diop attends a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured), in Moscow, Russia May 20, 2022. Yuri Kadobnov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

DAKAR (Reuters) -Mali's foreign affairs minister on Tuesday said the military government would exercise its right to self-defence if France continued to undermine the West African country's sovereignty and national security.

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council briefing on Mali in New York, Minister Abdoulaye Diop repeated allegations that France had violated its airspace and delivered arms to Islamist militants that have been waging an offensive in northern Mali for the past decade.