Malian people support the country’s decision to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine “with immediate effect,” saying that Mali needs countries that could help it, instead of that collaborate with rebel groups.

Mali’s transitional government on Sunday announced it would sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine “with immediate effect,” citing Ukraine’s acknowledged involvement in an act of aggression against Mali, said Abdoulaye Maiga, the Malian Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, in a statement.

This decision was taken in response to “subversive remarks” made by Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence, who recently admitted Ukraine’s involvement in an attack by “armed terrorist groups” that resulted in the deaths of Malian defense and security forces personnel in Tinzaoutene, said Maiga, who is also the government’s spokesperson.

Many Malian people are in favor of the government’s decision, stressing that Mali will break off diplomatic relations with any country associated with terrorist groups.

“Mali needs a country that can help it to get out of all this trouble, but when we see any country associated with rebel groups to loot Mali, automatically we will sever our diplomatic relations with that country. It’s not the end of world, we can appeal to other countries that can help us get out of this situation,” said Demba Kante, a local resident.

On July 30, the Malian Armed Forces reported having suffered “significant human losses” during intense fighting on July 26 against a “coalition of terrorist forces” in the northeastern part of the country.

Since 2012, Mali has been grappling with the expansion of terrorism and a deep multidimensional crisis, including security, political, economic, and humanitarian challenges.

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