Three female soldiers among Ivorian contingent held in Mali released
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Three female soldiers from the group of 49 Ivorian soldiers held in Mali since 10 July on claims of being mercenaries have been released.
This was disclosed in Lomé, the Togolese capital, during a joint press briefing by Robert Dussey, the Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fidèle Sarassoro, the Minister Director of Cabinet of the President of Côte d'Ivoire and Abdoulaye Diop, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Awa Bagayoko, Blédou Kagna Adèle and Bamba Sita were released on "humanitarian basis'' and handed over to the Ivorian authorities.
This partial release was the fruit of mediation led by Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, who is conducting negotiations for a peaceful settlement of this political-judicial dispute, which has cooled relations between Bamako and Abidjan, said the Malian national daily, L'Essor.
The 49 Ivorian soldiers were arrested on 10 July at the Modibo Keita International Airport with the Malian authorities describing them as mercenaries who came to destabilise the country.
This allegation was strongly denied by Cote d'Ivoire and the United Nations, which stressed that the soldiers arrived in Mali on a routine rotation of troops of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Despite this explanation, Mali went ahead to charge them on 14 August and placed them under a detention order by the prosecutor of the fight against terrorism and transnational crime.
-0- PANA GT/IS/BBA/MA 4Sept2022
