On Tuesday January 24, 2023 the Ivory Coast presented prestigious honors to 49 troops whose imprisonment by Mali sparked a tense diplomatic standoff between the two West African countries.
The troops had been arrested at Bamako airport in July.
Mali accused them of being mercenaries, while Ivory Coast and the United Nations said they were flown in to provide routine backup security for the German contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission.
On December 30, a Bamako court sentenced 46 soldiers to 20 years in prison, while three women soldiers who had been released received death sentences in absentia.
All 49 were pardoned by junta leader Assimi Goita on January 6.
In a ceremony on Tuesday, the 49 were named knights of the National Order of the Republic — the lowest of three rungs in the top award for services to the nation.
They were among 852 service personnel honoured for their deployment in the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping operation.
Armed forces chief Lassina Doumbia hailed their work as “contributing to guaranteeing the security of our borders”.
He described the row over the detained troops as “an unfortunate episode”, without elaboration.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Wednesday that West African authorities would not carry out their threat to impose sanctions on Mali for imprisoning 46 Ivorian soldiers, choosing to give the diplomatic dispute time to be resolved through Togo’s mediation.
Malian authorities detained the Ivorian troops after they arrived at Bamako airport on July 10 to provide backup security for a United Nations peacekeeping mission, accusing them of being “mercenaries”.
The move sparked diplomatic tensions between Bamako and Abidjan, which has decided not to replace its military contingent with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) when the current group rotates out in August.
Regional bloc ECOWAS gave Mali a deadline of January 1 to free the troops or face sanctions.
Nevertheless, a Malian court last month sentenced the troops to 20 years in prison.
Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the current head of ECOWAS, told journalists on Wednesday that “there will be no immediate sanctions against Mali”.
“We have given time for Togolese mediators to do their job, in order to resolve the situation. It’s just a matter of common sense,” he said.
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe paid a “friendly working visit” to Bamako on Wednesday, the Malian presidency said in a statement.
An official at the Malian presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Gnassingbe had called for a “presidential pardon” for the troops during his meeting with Malian coup leader Assimi Goita.
Of the 49 soldiers who were initially arrested, three women were freed, however, the court sentenced them to death in absentia in its December 30 ruling.
The troops were found guilty of an “attack and conspiracy against the government” and seeking to undermine state security, public prosecutor Ladji Sara said in a statement last month.
In his New Year’s address, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara promised that the imprisoned soldiers “will soon return to Ivorian soil”.
“We must trust the head of state,” Ivorian government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“Ivory Coast has chosen a way – that of negotiation – it is the diplomatic way, we remain resolutely committed to this path,” he added.
He declined to comment on the convictions of the Ivorian soldiers.
“We never comment on court decisions taken in Ivory Coast; there is no reason for us to comment on court decisions taken abroad,” he said.
Ivory Coast has categorically denied the soldiers were “mercenaries”.
On December 22, an Ivorian delegation visited Bamako to discuss the detention of the soldiers. At the end of that visit, a memorandum was signed, and Ivorian defense minister Tene Birahima Ouattara said the matter was “on the way to resolution”.
However, Goita did not mention the Ivorian soldiers in his end-of-year speech on Saturday.
In Abidjan, Monday, former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo celebrated the first anniversary of his political group African People’s Party – Côte d’Ivoire.
During a conference marking the occasion, the 77-year-old made a first official comment on the detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers in Mali.
They were arrested upon arrival in Bamako on July 10 and were accused of being mercenaries.
“President Assimi Goïta (head of the Malian junta) should be asked to think about his brotherhood of arms with those (Ivorian soldiers) who are in prison there”, Gbagbo said.
The leader of the PPA-CI party called on the Togolese presidentwho mediates the crisis to redouble his efforts to help solve the diplomatic row.
During the conference, eyes were also set on domestic politics and the 2025 presidential race. If Gbagbo has not officially announced his bid, for the executive secretary it’s an obvious fact.
“For the 2025 elections, President Laurent Gbagbo is our natural candidate”, Damanan Pickass.
President Alassane Ouattara has led the country since 2010. In addition to Gbagbo’s party, other Ivorian opposition parties include the (PDCI) by former leader Henri Konan Bédié, and the (MGC) by former First Lady Simone Gbagbo.
Mali’s military leader Col Assimi Goïta welcomed the Ecowas leaders as they arrived at the Modibo Keita International Airport in Bamako on Thursday, according to the Malian presidency on Facebook.
The military-led government had postponed the arrival of the Ecowas delegation to Thursday, citing “calendar constraints”. They had been due to arrive two days earlier.
Senegalese President Macky Sall and his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbe, were to be part of the delegation announced last Thursday, during an extraordinary Ecowas session the same day in New York, on the side-lines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Ecowas chairperson Umaro Sissoco Embalo had hinted at fresh sanctions for Mali if it continued to detain the 46 Ivorian soldiers.
Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said his country would not obey any order on the detention of the soldiers, accused of being mercenaries.
