A court in Mali sentenced 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast to 20 years in prison on Friday for conspiring against the government, and three others to death in absentia.
Forty-nine Ivorian soldiers were arrested at the airport in Mali’s capital Bamako in July, three of whom were later released. The arrest sparked a diplomatic row between neighboring countries and widespread condemnation from regional allies.
Mali’s ruling junta said the soldiers were acting as mercenaries, while Ivory Coast said they were part of a UN peacekeeping mission.
He was accused of attempting to undermine national security in August and was convicted in a trial that began on Thursday and ended on Friday ahead of a January 1 deadline set by West Africa’s main political and economic bloc to release or face sanctions.
Ivory Coast says its troops are being held captive, and has made repeated calls for their release. The country announced last month it would withdraw its remaining soldiers from the UN peacekeeping mission.
One of the most volatile countries in Africa, Mali has for ten years relied on regional allies and peacekeepers to contain Islamist rebels who have killed thousands of people and seized large areas in the central and northern regions.
Source: Reuters
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