Published on :
Abidjan and Bamako have found common ground. An agreement was reached Thursday, December 22 between the two parties for the release of 46 Ivorian soldiers detained since July 10 in Bamako. A political agreement was therefore finally found between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire to put an end to this highly inflammable conflict which had been dragging on for months, but the terms are still unknown.
The 46 Ivorian soldiers detained since July 10 in Bamako were accused by the Malian transitional authorities of being ” mercenaries came to destabilize the country. And this, while Côte d’Ivoire and the United Nations have always assured that they had come as part of Minusma, the UN mission in the country, while recognizing administrative dysfunctions.
Mali, through the voice of its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, now speaks of a ” unfortunate incident », and no longer an attempt at destabilization: this is a first. Côte d’Ivoire considers the conflict to be ” in the process of being resolved “. This was declared by the Ivorian Defense Minister, Ibrahima Téné Ouattara, leaving the Malian presidential palace in Koulouba. The release of the 46 Ivorian soldiers, still detained in Bamako, therefore seems certain. Even if an international diplomat scalded by the twists and turns of the last five months tempers: “ As long as they’re not out, we can expect anything ».
Go ” quickly to a happy ending »
However, the Malian presidency promises, in a press release published Thursday evening, ” to go quickly to a happy ending », « in compliance with ongoing legal proceedings “. The Ivorian soldiers will therefore not escape a trial for ” breach of state security “. Will they be sentenced to a sentence already covered by their period of detention? Towards a heavier sentence accompanied by a presidential pardon? Will there be a dismissal? The possibilities are multiple, but Abidjan seems, in any case, to have obtained political guarantees on the outcome of this legal procedure.
Did the Ivorians have to agree to counterparties? Bamako demanded the extradition of Malian political figures staying in Côte d’Ivoire. An end of inadmissibility had always been opposed to it. Bamako also wanted the support of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara from ECOWAS for refinancing facilities.
Abidjan had already declared itself in favor of it, but after the release of its soldiers. On this question of possible counterparts, nothing has filtered to date. Another element may have weighed: the threat of sanctions against Mali brandished three weeks ago by ECOWAS if the case was not settled by the end of the month.
►Also read : Mali / Ivory Coast: the release of the 46 Ivorian soldiers detained in Bamako recorded by the memorandum