France and Mali have suspended issuing visas to each other's citizens reports the AFP news agency.

This heightens the row that has already led to a French military withdrawal from its former Sahel ally, diplomats said Thursday.

The French embassy had this week suspended issuance of new visas in Bamako after placing all of the country in a "red zone" where it is strongly advised not to travel, they said.

Mali's junta responded by freezing new visas for French citizens at its embassy in Paris in an act of "reciprocity", the Malian foreign ministry said.

On August 7, the French foreign ministry issued an update on its guidance for travel.

"In the current context of strong regional tensions, all travel to Mali is strongly discouraged. French citizens in Mali are urged to show the greatest vigilance," it said.

France and Mali fell out after the military seized power in Bamako in 2020, ousting elected president Ibrahim Keita over failures to curb jihadist insurgency in the country.

As the dispute escalated and the junta brought in Russian paramilitaries, France began to pull out its anti-jihadist force, under a phased withdrawal that ended last year.