France has suspended its joint military operations with Mali following last week’s coup by the military in the West African country.
The French government said the suspension would be lifted only after it receives guarantees about a return to civilian rule in Mali.
French forces have been supporting troops from Mali, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, and Burkina Faso to fight militants in the Sahel region.
But on 25 May Mali’s military strongman, Col Assimi Goïta, sacked the country’s interim civilian president and prime minister in the second coup in 9 months.
This week the West African grouping Ecowas and the African Union (AU) suspended Mali from their bodies.
On Thursday France’s armed forces ministry said that both Ecowas and the AU had set “the framework for the political transition in Mali”.