Malian military rulers announced on Thursday that they arrested a group of military and civilian individuals, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accused of attempting to destabilize the country. The announcement followed recent rumors about the arrest of officers in the Malian army and was made by Mali’s Security Minister, General Daoud Ali Mohammedin, in local media. The army did not provide any details about the alleged coup plot or the French citizen involved. Mali has long been fighting an insurgency alongside its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, involving armed groups, some allied with Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Following two military coups, the ruling military group expelled French forces and instead turned to Russia for security assistance. However, the security situation remains precarious, with intensified attacks from extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in recent months.