West African leaders will not face the threat of sanctions against Mali for jailing 46 Ivorian soldiers, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) said on Wednesday, adding that it would give Togo’s mediation in the diplomatic spat time to bear fruit.
Malian authorities detained Ivory Coast troops after they arrived at Bamako airport on July 10 to provide backup security for a UN peacekeeping mission, accusing them of being “mercenaries”.
The move has fueled diplomatic tensions between Bamako and Abidjan, and Ecowas has given Mali a January 1 deadline to release its troops or face sanctions.
A Malian court last month sentenced the force to 20 years in prison.
Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the current head of Ecowas, told reporters on Wednesday that “there will be no direct sanctions against Mali”.
“We have given time to the Togolese mediator to do his job, to resolve the situation. It’s just a matter of common sense,” he said.
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé made a “friendly working visit” to Bamako on Wednesday, the Malian president said in a statement.
An official in the Malian presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Gnassingbé asked for a “presidential pardon” for the troops during a meeting with Malian junta leader Assimi Goita.
Of the 49 soldiers initially arrested, three women were released, but the court sentenced them to death in absentia in a December 30 verdict.
The forces were accused of “attacks and conspiracies against the government” and seeking to undermine national security, public prosecutor Ladji Sara said in a statement last month.
In his New Year’s address, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara promised that the imprisoned soldiers “will return to the land of Ivory Coast”.
“We have to trust the head of state,” Ivorian government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“Côte d’Ivoire chose the way – that is negotiation – that is the diplomatic way, we remain committed to this path.”
He declined to comment on the conviction of the Ivorian soldiers.
“There is no reason to comment on court decisions made abroad,” he said.
Ivory Coast denies the soldiers are mercenaries.
On December 22, the Ivory Coast delegation visited Bamako to discuss the detention of the soldiers.
At the end of the visit, a memorandum was signed, and Ivory Coast Defense Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara said the matter was “on the way to a resolution”. Goita did not mention the Ivorian soldier in his year-end speech on Saturday. — AFP