Mali gives Swedish envoy 72 hours to leave as Russia-Ukraine conflict reaches Africa

- Decision to expel Kristina Kuhnel comes after Swedish minister's statement regarding aid cuts to Mali described as 'hostile'

- Diplomatic row increased after Ukrainian spy agency spokesman hinted at hand in providing information to Tuareg rebels who planned attack in Kidal region, killing Malian soldiers, Russian Wagner fighters

DOUALA, Cameroon

Mali on Friday ordered the Swedish ambassador to leave the country within three days as the Russia-Ukraine conflict reached the West African nation, which had previously severed diplomatic ties with Kyiv for complicity in an attack that killed Malian soldiers as well as Russian Wagner troops.

Kristina Kuhnel, Sweden's ambassador to Bamako, has been ordered to leave Mali within the next three days, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Friday.

Mali strongly objected to the Swedish minister's statement to cut the country's aid, which came after Bamako announced earlier this week that it was severing ties with Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of involvement in a devastating ambush in the northern Kidal region in late July, in which dozens of Malian soldiers were killed.

The Tuareg rebels who orchestrated the attack later claimed that their fighters had killed Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner fighters. However, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military spy agency said last week that the rebels had the “necessary information” to carry out the attack.

Following the Mali government's decision to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, Sweden's International Cooperation and Trade Minister Johan Forssell said on X on Wednesday that "It is impossible to support Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine while receiving hundreds of millions of crowns every year in development aid.”

The Malian Foreign Ministry described the Swedish minister's statement as "hostile," setting a 72-hour deadline for Sweden's ambassador to leave the country.

Earlier in the day, the Swedish ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to protest the Swedish minister's statement.

The Swedish embassy said in a separate statement in June that the mission had already begun the process of leaving Mali and had terminated its representation agreement with Denmark regarding Schengen visas.

"In order to pursue an effective engagement in West Africa," the Swedish government has decided to "launch a process to establish a new embassy in Senegal," the embassy said.