The release of three Ivorian soldiers out of the 49 detained in Mali is “a good sign”, estimated the spokesperson for the Ivorian government Amadou Coulibaly on September 6, 2022, assuring that the negotiations are continuing. The fate of these soldiers, some of whom have been free since September 3, constitutes a diplomatic challenge for Abidjan which challenges the entire Ivorian political class, in particular the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI).
“The problem is so sensitive that we speak in a low voice (…) We are very attached to our relations with neighboring countries. President Bédié (former head of state and party leader, editor’s note) said that we must act with humility, discretion and diplomacy”, PDCI spokesperson Bredoumy Kouassi reacted on September 5, 2022, reports the Ivorian news site Abidjan.net.
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, whose country is acting as mediator, thanked in a statement the head of the Malian junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, “for agreeing to release the three soldiers for humanitarian purposes”. The Togolese Head of State also hailed “personal involvement” of the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara “in search of a favorable outcome” in that case.
On July 10, 49 Ivorian soldiers in military uniform, but unarmed, landed in Bamako from a plane belonging to the national company Air Côte d’Ivoire, another aircraft carrying their weapons. They were immediately arrested and interrogated on the reasons for their presence in Mali, having “neither mission order nor authorisation” to be there, according to the Malian authorities.
The next day, they had been accused of being “mercenaries” came to Mali with the “malignant design” of “break the dynamics of rebuilding and securing Mali, as well as the return to constitutional order”. But Abidjan assures that these soldiers were on a mission for the UN, as part of logistical support operations for the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma) and demands their release. In August, they were charged and imprisoned for “Attempt to undermine state security”.
In this case, the UN recognized “malfunctions” in a note addressed to the Malian government and admitted that “csome measures were not followed”. “The Minusma notes that the Ivorian elements have been deployed in Sénou (Bamako, the Malian capital) to ensure security at the base of the German NSEs in this same locality, instead of Timbuktu (north) where is the Ivorian contingent of the Minusma based”is it explained in particular.
“The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, 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, relating to the deployment of military forces in Mali.“, said the minister director of cabinet to the Ivorian presidency, Fidèle Sarassoro, during a conference on September 3.
“Discussions are underway so that, very quickly, the other soldiers in detention can regain their total freedom”clarified Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey who spoke alongside his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop and the Ivorian minister.
“We remain optimistic. We are on this path of dialogue, the diplomatic path and we do not doubt for a moment that our soldiers will join their families”said Ivorian government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly. In addition to that of Togo, several other mediations are underway to obtain the release of the soldiers, in particular that of Malian religious leaders.
Last August, Senegalese President Macky Sall, who chairs the African Union, said following a meeting with the head of the Malian junta “wanting to find an African solution” to this dispute“within the framework of African solidarity”.
The affair illustrates the tensions between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire, accused by Bamako of having incited its West African partners to toughen the sanctions against the Malian soldiers who have carried out two coups since 2020, sanctions finally lifted at the beginning of July.