Mali releases three Ivorian soldiers; 46 still detained

Three women among the 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali have been released.

The women arrived home late on Saturday about seven weeks after their arrests sparked a diplomatic spat between military-ruled Mali and the Ivory Coast.

Mali said the group – who were detained at the airport in the Malian capital, Bamako, on July 10 – had flown in without permission and were considered mercenaries.

Ivory Coast, which has repeatedly requested their release, says the soldiers were unfairly arrested after being sent to provide backup for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. They say their role within the mission was “well-known to the Malian authorities”.

Togolese foreign minister Robert Dusse, whose country has been mediating talks, told reporters on Saturday that the three women were “released as a humanitarian gesture” by Mali’s leader, Colonel Assimi Goita.

Ivory Coast “deplores the fact that shortcomings and misunderstandings were at the origin of this highly regrettable event”, Sarassoro said at the news conference.

His country, “anxious to maintain good neighborly relations with Mali, undertakes to respect the procedures of the United Nations as well as the new Malian rules and provisions enacted concerning the deployment of military forces in Mali”, he added.

A statement from Mali’s public prosecutor Samba Sissoko on Saturday said the magistrate in charge of the case had approved a request for the release of the three soldiers and the dropping of charges against them.

One of the soldiers who was released, Sita Bamba, called for freedom for her fellow troops.

Agencies