Amid diplomatic tensions, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs meets the Mauritanian chargé d’affaires.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, held talks on Tuesday with the acting chargé d’affaires at the Mauritanian Embassy in Bamako, Cheikhane Habibou Rahmane.
The discussions addressed bilateral issues of mutual interest, according to a statement from the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on the X platform, including current security matters, with an emphasis on the need to strengthen cooperation and dialogue in the interest of both countries.
This meeting comes amid rapidly unfolding developments, following a statement issued by the Malian Armed Forces claiming that Malian soldiers had been kidnapped and detained inside Mauritanian territory by an armed group in a refugee camp, before managing to escape and return to Mali. They later arrived in the city of Goundam, where they were handed over to the military police.
For its part, Mauritania denied these allegations, expressing surprise at the claims made in the statement and that what had been circulated had no basis in fact. It also stressed that it has been hosting a camp for Malian refugees for nearly three decades under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and several humanitarian organizations, and that Malian officials had visited the camp on previous occasions.