The 46 Ivorian soldiers suspected of being “mercenaries” and detained in Mali since July will stand trial in Bamako’s Court of Appeal on Thursday, December 29, a court official and a lawyer for the Ivorian soldiers told AFP.
On July 10, 49 Ivorian soldiers were arrested in Mali and in mid-August charged with “attempting to undermine the state’s external security” and officially arrested. Three women were later released. Abidjan assures that these soldiers were part of logistical support operations for the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma) on behalf of the United Nations and calls for their release.
A week ago, an official Ivorian delegation met with the Malian authorities in a “fraternal” atmosphere, and the Ivorian defense minister assured that the case was “in the process of being resolved”.
Also read: In Mali, charges against 49 Ivorian soldiers complicate negotiations with Abidjan
“Following the examination of the case by the military judiciary, we registered him for special sentencing without a public hearing,” a deputy Bamako Court of Appeal told AFP on Thursday judging the 46 Ivorian soldiers arrested with guns at Bamako Airport on July 10, 2022. »
The information was confirmed to AFP by a lawyer from the Ivorian military. A source inside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also assured AFP “that it will have observer status at the trial of the 46, which opens today in the Bamako Court of Appeal.”
At the beginning of December, the West African heads of state and government, who met without Mali for a summit in Abuja, called for the release of the 46 Ivorian soldiers before January 1st, under threat of new sanctions against Bamako.