Ivory Coast asks Mali to immediately release 49 arrested soldiers
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Loading... - Nyshka Suh
- 31 Aug 2022
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Ivory Coast on Tuesday demanded the release of 49 of its soldiers arrested in Mali, an incident that may worsen tensions between Mali's military rulers and other West African nations amid efforts to quell an Islamist insurgency and restore democratic rule.
The Ivorian soldiers were arrested on Sunday at Mali's main international airport in the capital Bamako.
Mali's military government said the troops arrived without permission, that some of their passports indicated non-military professions, and that they gave differing versions of their mandate.
The junta said the soldiers would be considered mercenaries and charged as such, adding that Ivorian authorities were unaware of their arrival.
But Ivory Coast said on Tuesday the soldiers were deployed as part of a security and logistics support contract signed with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali in July 2019, and it demanded their immediate release.
They were the eighth rotation sent to Mali under the convention and their mission order had been sent to both airport authorities and the junta before arrival, Ivory Coast's national security council said in a statement. Read More...
