By John Ikani
46 soldiers from Ivory Coast were on Saturday, reunited with their families in the capital city of Abidjan after being released from detention in Mali.
The soldiers were originally arrested in July 2022 upon arriving in the Malian capital of Bamako to provide backup security for a German contingent of the United Nations peacekeeping mission.
However, the Malian government accused the soldiers of being mercenaries, leading to a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
Both the Ivorian government and the United Nations maintained that the soldiers were simply providing routine security assistance.
In December, a court in Bamako sentenced the soldiers to 20 years in prison and three women among the group to death in absentia.
On Friday, the leader of Mali’s junta, Assimi Goita, issued a pardon for all 49 individuals.
The release of the soldiers followed negotiations between the governments of Mali and Ivory Coast, as well as mediation by the President of Togo.
Prior to the arrests, relations between the two countries had been strained, and the dispute had escalated in September when Mali demanded that Ivory Coast acknowledge responsibility and express regret for deploying the soldiers, as well as hand over individuals wanted in Mali.
Ivory Coast rejected these demands and had been prepared for extended negotiations in order to secure the release of the soldiers.
The Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, welcomed the soldiers upon their arrival in Abidjan and stated that he hoped the two countries could move past the diplomatic disagreement.
A spokesman for the soldiers thanked Ouattara and the Ivorian people for their support and solidarity.
The tensions between Mali and its West African neighbors had been exacerbated by the overthrow of the elected President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, in August 2020 by officers frustrated with the government’s inability to end a jihadist insurgency.
In September, the interim Prime Minister of Mali, Abdoulaye Maiga, criticized the United Nations and regional leaders, including the President of Ivory Coast, at the United Nations General Assembly for their handling of the situation.
The UN had acknowledged “procedural dysfunctions” in its dealings with the Malian government, while the Ivorian presidency admitted to “shortcomings and misunderstandings”.
Despite these admissions, Ivorian President Ouattara had previously warned that the “hostage-taking” of the soldiers would not go without consequences.
