BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's military rulers said Thursday they have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accused of attempting to destabilize the country .

The announcement followed rumors in recent days of arrests of Malian army officers and was made by Mali’s security minister, Gen. Daoud Aly Mohammedine on the evening news on the local media.

It comes amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent by Mali’s military following the country’s pro-democracy rally in May , the first since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago.

The military provided no details about the alleged coup plot or the French national implicated in it.

Mali, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long battled an insurgency

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