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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mali sends back migrants deported by France | Mali sends back migrants deported by France |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Mali has sent back two people who were deported from France on the same planes they arrived on, questioning whether they were even Malian citizens. | Mali has sent back two people who were deported from France on the same planes they arrived on, questioning whether they were even Malian citizens. |
| The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or "laissez-passez", not passports or other Malian papers, the government said. | The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or "laissez-passez", not passports or other Malian papers, the government said. |
| The government said it could not accept people "simply assumed to be Malian". | The government said it could not accept people "simply assumed to be Malian". |
| Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests. | Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests. |
| In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European "laissez-passez" in cases of expulsion, describing it as "against international conventions". | In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European "laissez-passez" in cases of expulsion, describing it as "against international conventions". |
| It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali. | It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali. |
| The French authorities have not yet commented. | The French authorities have not yet commented. |
| Malians are among the sub-Saharan African nationalities most deported from France: | |
| Source: Eurostat, 2015 | |
| More about the migrant crisis: | |
| There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, who support their relatives back home by sending money. | There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, who support their relatives back home by sending money. |
| More than 360,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year. | |
| Many pass through Mali on their way although Malians are not among the 10 nationalities most likely to attempt the journey. | |
| Mali has denied that it agreed to enable the return from Europe of Malian migrants as part of a deal that was heralded in December by senior European diplomats as the first of its kind. | Mali has denied that it agreed to enable the return from Europe of Malian migrants as part of a deal that was heralded in December by senior European diplomats as the first of its kind. |
| A $1.9bn (£1.2bn) European Union-backed fund to tackle African migration was announced in November 2015, with African leaders agreeing to allow the return of failed asylum seekers in return for development aid. | A $1.9bn (£1.2bn) European Union-backed fund to tackle African migration was announced in November 2015, with African leaders agreeing to allow the return of failed asylum seekers in return for development aid. |