46 Ivorian soldiers return home following Mali’s pardon

A day after being released by the junta of the neighbouring country, 46 Ivorian troops who had been jailed in Mali since July returned home late Saturday, according to an AFP reporter at the airport.

The servicemen were detained on July 10, 2022, after arriving in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Their incarceration led to a sour diplomatic dispute between the neighbouring nations.

While Ivory Coast and the United Nations claim they were brought in to provide routine backup protection for the German element of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, Mali accused them of being mercenaries.

The 46 soldiers were given 20 years in prison on December 30 by a Malian court, while three of the initial 49 arrested women were given in absentia death sentences.

Public prosecutor Ladji Sara stated at the time that they had been found guilty of an “attack and conspiracy against the government” as well as attempting to compromise national security.

READ ALSO: All 49 Ivorian soldiers were pardoned by the Mali Junta leader

Assimi Goita, the head of Mali’s junta, released all 49 of the troops on Friday.

The other 46 then landed on Saturday at an airport in Abidjan, which is the commercial centre of Ivory Coast.

As their plane touched down at 2340 local time (11:40 p.m. GMT), the soldiers got off one by one, each holding a small Ivorian flag.

Before they entered the presidential pavilion at the airport, where their families were waiting for them, President Alassane Ouattara greeted them.