Published on: 01.01.2023 – 01:17
During his greetings to the nation, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said the 46 Ivorian soldiers convicted in Mali will return to Côte d’Ivoire “soon”.
“My thoughts go especially to our detained soldiers mali since July 10, 2022,” said the Ivorian President during the Head of State’s traditional New Year’s speech.
this saturday night, Alassane Ouattara pointed out that the 46 soldiers “will soon return to Ivorian soil”. The 46 soldiers were sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mali, for “assault and conspiracy against the government” and “undermining the external security of the state”. Since their arrest on July 10, 2022, Abidjan has claimed they were on a mission for the United Nations.
The Ivorian President took the opportunity to appreciate the diplomacy activated in this file. “Thanks to diplomatic actions carried out with the support of leaders of several friendly countries, in particular the President of the Republic of Togo, His Excellency Mr. Faure Gnassingbé, three female soldiers were released last September. The other 46 soldiers will soon return to Ivorian soil,” said Alassane Ouattara.
For his part, the President of the PDCI, Henri Konan Bédié, encouraged the Ivorian government to continue “diplomatic efforts”.
The former Ivorian president also called on the government to create “the conditions” for the “immediate release” of Pulchérie Gbalet, this leader of the organization “Ivorian Citizen Alternative”, who has been arrested and imprisoned since August 22, 2022. Pulchérie Gbalet is prosecuted for “agreement with the agents of a foreign power”.