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France has officially suspended counter-terrorism cooperation with Mali and expelled some Malian diplomats in response to the arrest of a French embassy staff member.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: A few weeks back, Malian authorities arrested French national Yann Vezilier, who worked at the French embassy in Bamako and was accused of participating in a coup plot to destabilize the ruling military government. According to Mali’s security minister, Vezilier acted on behalf of French intelligence services and collaborated with political figures, civil society members, and senior military officials. He was detained alongside two Malian generals (Abbass Dembele and Naima Sagara) as part of what authorities described as a foreign-backed conspiracy. France rejected the accusations as unfounded, insisting that Vezilier was protected by diplomatic immunity and that his arrest violated international law.

What’s going on now: In direct response to Vezilier’s arrest, France has suspended all counter-terrorism cooperation with Mali (a significant move given the decade-long security partnership between the two countries). In addition, the French foreign ministry declared two Malian diplomats stationed in Paris persona non grata and ordered them to leave the country by Saturday.

A French diplomatic source told AFP that this action was taken “in response to the arrest of our staff member,” and warned that “other measures” could follow if Vezilier is not released swiftly.

Mali quickly retaliated by declaring five French embassy staff members in Bamako persona non grata, all of whom have reportedly left the country.

More to come