Published on : 14/09/2022 – 22:23
Abidjan expresses its indignation and demands the release ” without delay of the 46 soldiers detained in Mali for two months. In a statement read this Wednesday afternoon in front of the media, the Ivorian authorities officially denounce what they consider to be ” a hostage taking “. Indeed, the Malian authorities are demanding the extradition of Malian political leaders established in Côte d’Ivoire, in ” consideration of the release of Ivorian soldiers. A request badly perceived by the authorities of Abidjan, who held a National Security Council this Wednesday morning.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Bineta Diagne
In this statement, the authorities reiterate their version of the facts: the 49 soldiers sent to Mali are not mercenaries, they belong to the 8th detachment of the Minusma. The Ivorian authorities regret the “ misunderstandings and shortcomings which led to their arrest.
►To read also: Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali: Abidjan denounces a “hostage-taking”
The National Security Council also denounces the conditions set by Bamako to release the 46 soldiers still in detention: Abidjan criticizes a “ unacceptable blackmail “, and recalls that Côte d’Ivoire is a country “ committed to peace, stability and the rule of law in the sub-region. »
Abidjan requests the holding of an extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS. Several heads of state have so far been involved, the statement recalls, such as the Togolese Faure Gnassingbé and the Senegalese Macky Sall. The Ivorian authorities are betting on the diplomatic channel to resolve this crisis.
In view of the latest developments, which are likely to undermine peace and security in the sub-region, the President of the Republic has instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to seize the ECOWAS Commission with a view to holding as soon as possible of an extraordinary meeting of Heads of State and Government to examine the crisis between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.
Fidèle Sarassoro, the executive secretary of the National Security Council
► Read also : Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali: new turning point in the crisis between Bamako and Abidjan
On the ECOWAS side, the president of Guinea-Bissau, current president of the institution, Umaro Sissoco Embaló consults and centralizes the points of view. Togolese mediation is continuing its efforts and other countries are bringing their personal touch, reports our correspondent in the region Serge Daniel.
For example, according to our information, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, head of the Guinean junta, recently asked Bamako to release the Ivorian soldiers still detained, specifying that he himself had volunteered to pick them up and bring them back to Abidjan.
The compensation now demanded by the Malian government does not pass to almost all the member countries of ECOWAS, which now show their concern and at the same time their support for Côte d’Ivoire by dispatching emissaries there. Within the sub-regional institution, two meetings on the subject are announced, at least one meeting next week in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. And the tone could rise against Mali.