Published on: 03/09/2022 – 22:10 Three soldiers from the group of 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali, and accused of being mercenaries, have been released “on humanitarian grounds”, a diplomat told AFP on Saturday. Malian and a Togolese diplomat. Three female soldiers out of a group of 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali, which accuses them of being mercenaries, have been released, a Malian diplomat and a Togolese diplomat told AFP on Saturday. On a humanitarian basis, Mali has released the three women from the contingent of 49 Ivorian soldiers,” the Malian diplomat said on condition of anonymity. On July 10, 49 Ivorian soldiers in military uniform, but unarmed, landed in Bamako from a plane belonging to the national company Air Côte d’Ivoire, another plane carrying their weapons. They were immediately arrested and questioned about the reasons for their presence in Mali, having “neither mission order nor authorization” to be there, according to the Malian authorities. The next day, they are accused of being “mercenaries” who came to Mali with the “disastrous intention” of ” break the dynamics of rebuilding and securing Mali, as well as the return to constitutional order”. The Ivorian head of state immediately demanded the release of his soldiers, who, according to him, were unjustly arrested. Abidjan assures that these soldiers were on a mission for the UN, as part of logistical support operations for the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma) and demands their release. The 49 soldiers were charged in mid-August by the courts. Malian, in particular for “attempt to attack the s external security of the State” and imprisoned. Several mediations are underway to obtain their release, including that of Togo and Malian religious leaders. This case illustrates the tensions between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire, accused by Bamako of having encouraged its West African partners to toughen the sanctions against the Malian soldiers who have carried out two coups since 2020, sanctions finally lifted at the beginning of July. With AFP