Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi allegedly communicated with Jihadist groups in Africa without the knowledge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Ambassador Mona Omar, former foreign minister aide for African affairs.

"There was direct contact between these Jihadist groups and the Egyptian presidency, especially in Mali," Omar said on a Saturday night interview broadcast on Dream TV 2.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ambassador added, had informed Morsi's presidency that the groups in question were separatist movements aiming to divide Mali, to which the presidency replied that they were liberation, not separatist, movements.

Morsi was openly opposed to the French military intervention in Mali last January, there to assist the Malian government forces restore northern Mali from the separatist movements, which included the Al-Qaeda splinter group the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). 

The deposed Islamist president declared his opposition to French military action for fear it would sow seeds of unrest in the region and preferred a more peaceful approach, including dialogue, to end the crisis in Mali.