Mali has filed formal charges of “attempting to damage state security” against 49 Ivorian soldiers who are arrested in Bamako and are suspected of being “mercenaries”, according to court sources.
A Malian judicial source said prosecutors in Bamako charged the soldiers who had been detained in the country for more than a month and decided to continue their detention pending a trial.
Another source close to the judiciary and an official from Mali’s Ministry of Justice confirmed the veracity of this information in an AFP statement.
Côte d’Ivoire has denied the allegations and has demanded the release of its soldiers, noting that they are part of a force to reinforce the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, known by the acronym MINUSMA.
Negotiations for the release of Ivorian soldiers began after Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé took on the role of mediator.
A source familiar with the talks said “some progress has been made”, but drew attention to the breakdown due to “some issues”.
The same source added: “The judiciary will do its job, but negotiations will also continue,” without giving details about the initiative.
The arrest of soldiers who arrived at Bamako airport on July 10 has sparked a diplomatic crisis between army-ruled Mali and neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
The military junta in Mali accused the Ivorian authorities of “prompting regional partners to impose tough sanctions against the country, which were lifted in July last year.”
The army has ruled Mali since the August 2020 coup against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, after massive protests over the government’s handling of a “bloody jihadist uprising.”
MINUSMA is among the forces deployed to Mali to assist in the fight against insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS, terrorists who began their operations in 2012 and spread their influence to the north and center of Mali.
Source: AFP.