Mali has brought official accusations of “attempting to harm state security” against 49 soldiers from Cote d’Ivoire, who are arrested in Bamako and suspected of being “mercenaries,” according to judicial sources.
A Malian judicial source stated that the Public Prosecution Office in Bamako had charged the soldiers who had been detained for more than a month in the country, and decided to continue their detention pending the case.
Another source close to the judiciary and an official at the Ministry of Justice in Mali confirmed the validity of this information, in a statement to "AFP."
Cote d'Ivoire denies these accusations and has demanded the release of its soldiers, noting that they are "part of the forces to strengthen the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali", known by the acronym MINUSMA.
Negotiations for the release of the Ivorian soldiers began after the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, assumed the role of mediator.
A source familiar with the progress of the talks said that "some progress has been achieved", but drew attention to their disruption due to "certain points".
The same source added: “The judiciary will do its job, but negotiations will also continue,” without providing further details about the initiative.
The arrest of the soldiers, after their arrival at Bamako airport on July 10, sparked a diplomatic crisis between Mali, which is ruled by the army, and its neighbor Cote d'Ivoire.
The military junta in Mali accused the Ivorian authorities of "encouraging regional partners to impose harsh sanctions on the country, which were lifted last July."
The Malian army has been ruling since a coup d'état, in August 2020, against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, after widespread protests over the government's handling of a "bloody jihadist rebellion."
MINUSMA is among the forces deployed in Mali to help it confront rebels linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS, which launched their operations in 2012 and expanded their influence to northern and central Mali.