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The French foreign ministry has urged all French nationals in Mali to temporarily leave the country, where a two-month-old fuel blockade by al Qaeda-linked militants has all but paralysed the capital Bamako.
In post on its website on Friday, the ministry recommended that French nationals leave Mali “as soon as possible” through commercial flights and not by land, warning that main roads have been targeted by “terrorist groups”.
The ministry also reiterated its formal advice against travelling to the African country “regardless of the reason”.
Watch moreJihadists’ fuel blockade squeezes Mali’s military rulers
It comes a day after the ministry told a press briefing that insecurity in Mali showed the country’s decision to turn to Russia and Moscow-linked armed groups for security assistance had proven to be a failure.
“We are following the security situation in Mali with a great deal of attention and genuine concern,” foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux told reporters on Thursday.
“What I could add is that we can see that the contested presence of Russia, or forces associated with it in Mali, does not in any way ensure the security of Malian women and men.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters)
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