On Saturday evening, Togolese authorities announced the release of three Ivorian female soldiers who had been detained in Mali since July after their arrests sparked a diplomatic row between military-ruled Mali and Ivory Coast.
Mali claimed the group, who were detained at Bamako’s airport on July 10, had flown in without permission and were considered mercenaries.
The three soldiers were released on humanitarian grounds and are among 49 Ivorian soldiers who have been detained in Bamako since July 10th.
Togo has mediated the conflict between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire.
The remaining 46 soldiers are now the subject of discussions.
Malian authorities accuse the Ivorian soldiers of being mercenaries, while Ivorian officials claim they were on a mission to support UN forces in Mali.
The Ivory Coast, which has repeatedly requested their release, claims the soldiers were arbitrarily detained after being dispatched to provide backup for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. According to them, their role in the mission was “well-known to the Malian authorities.”
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Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dusse, whose country has been mediating talks, told reporters on Saturday that Mali’s leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, “released the three women as a humanitarian gesture.”
“I’d like to announce that the transitional president of Mali, President Assimi Goita, has agreed to move forward with the release of some prisoners,” Dusse said.
“Discussions are underway to ensure that the other soldiers detained can regain their full freedom as soon as possible,” he added.
Dusse was speaking in Lome, Togo, alongside Mali’s foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, and Fidele Sarassoro, the cabinet director of Ivory Coast.
Sarassoro said at the news conference that Ivory Coast “deplores the fact that shortcomings and misunderstandings were at the root of this highly regrettable event.”
His country, “anxious to maintain good neighbourly relations with Mali,” he added, “undertakes to respect UN procedures as well as new Malian rules and provisions enacted concerning the deployment of military forces in Mali.”
According to a statement issued on Saturday by Mali’s public prosecutor, Samba Sissoko, the magistrate in charge of the case approved a request for the release of the three soldiers and the dismissal of charges against them.
Sita Bamba, one of the released soldiers, demanded freedom for her fellow soldiers.
“We are sad because our friends are still there, but we are hopeful that we will be able to retrieve them very soon,” she said upon her return home.
The arrest of the Ivorian soldiers was the most recent sign of tension between Mali’s leader and the international community. Goita has faced increasing isolation since seizing power in a coup two years ago and failing to meet an international deadline to hold new democratic elections.
MINUSMA spokesman Olivier Salgado backed Ivory Coast’s position a day after the troops were detained, but the peacekeeping mission later acknowledged “dysfunctions” in the deployment of the Ivorian troops.
Salgado was expelled from Mali by the military for publishing “unacceptable information” about the affair.
It also halted rotations of UN peacekeeping troops, which have since resumed.
MINUSMA is one of the forces in the Sahel state assisting in the fight against al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, which began operations in 2012 and has spread its influence across northern and central Mali.
Malian authorities stated in June that they would not allow MINUSMA to investigate human rights violations in Mali, including the deaths of over 300 civilians earlier this year.
The Ivorian government has promised to adhere to Malian and UN rules regarding the deployment of military forces in the country.
Mali has also accused Abidjan of inciting west African countries to impose harsher sanctions on Malian soldiers who have been involved in two coups since 2020.
Source: africanews
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