The opposition Ivorian People’s Front (FPI) has asked the Cote d’Ivoire government to give priority to the diplomatic pressure for the release of 49 of its soldiers being held in neighbouring Mali, according to a statement seen by APA.
“The FPI calls for the release of the 49 soldiers– our fellow citizens detained in Mali– expresses its solidarity with their various families and remains committed to the case,” said the statement signed by its secretary general and spokesman, Issiaka Sangare.
The party of former Prime Minister Affi N’Guessan says it is following “with great attention the progress of the case of the 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali and encourages the government to give priority to diplomacy in the search for solutions for the happy and speedy outcome of this case.”
On Sunday, July 10, 2022, 49 Ivorian soldiers were arrested in the early afternoon at Bamako International Airport.
These soldiers were presented by Malian authorities on Monday as mercenaries.
On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, the Ivorian government reacted through the National Security Council (CNS), which issued a statement saying that the soldiers were “regularly enrolled in the Ivorian Army and are in Mali.”
According to the Ivorian government, these soldiers are involved in the operations of the National Support Elements (NSEs) and that “the presence of this detachment of NSE elements is consistent with the mechanisms of peacekeeping missions and is well known to the Malian authorities.”
Despite the clarifications provided by the Ivorian political and military establishments and the calls for the release of the prisoners, the Malian authorities have maintained their position that the presence of the Ivorian soldiers cannot be justified.
AP/ls/cgd/fss/as/APA