While many observers were hoping for an improvement in relations between Bamako and Abidjan after the release of three of the 49 Ivorian soldiers arrested, the ruling Malian junta has provided another surprise. In a statement released on Friday, September 9, following a meeting between the President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta, and an official Nigerian delegation that had come to plead the case of the 46 Ivorian soldiers still detained, Bamako demanded certain conditions from the Ivorian government that could contribute to a successful resolution of the situation.
In addition to the judicial route that it had previously opted for, this is the first time since the arrest of the Ivorian soldiers that the Malian government has said it wants to resolve the case in another way as well. During a meeting held on Friday, September 9 with the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffroy Onyema, who came to plead the cause of the 46 soldiers still detained, Bamako sent several messages.
Abidjan called to stop hosting some Malian politicians wanted by the justice system
“Abidjan should no longer serve as a political asylum for certain Malian personalities who are the subject of international arrest warrants issued by the Malian justice system,” said an official statement. Better yet, the Malian government believes that these wanted individuals in Ivory Coast even intend to “destabilize Mali.
Read also: Case of 49 Ivorian soldiers held in Mali: The three women of the group are released
No one-way solution for Bamako, which demands a quid pro quo
In the same statement, the Malian government said it was open to negotiations. But for Bamako, there is a need for “a lasting solution as opposed to a one-way solution which would consist of acceding to the Ivorian request without any compensation for Mali.” Abidjan, for its part, has always reassured that its territory will never be used as a rear base to destabilize Mali and that the judicial process has rules that must be respected.
The 49 Ivorian soldiers, including the three women of the group who were recently released, have been held in Mali since July 10, 2022.
