Mali And The Detained Ivorian Soldiers

On July 10, the military government in Mali detained 49 Ivorian troops that had just landed in the country and were part of a support team for the German contingent of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.

At a point after the arrest of the Ivorian troops, the Malian foreign ministry told the United Nations mission in Mali to suspend all flights scheduled to rotate peacekeeping forces. Mali claimed the 49 troops had arrived in the country without permission. The foreign minister said, “For reasons related to the national security context, the government of Mali has decided to suspend, as of today, all rotations of the military and police contingent of [the UN Mission to Mali], including those already scheduled or announced.”

The soldiers arrested were later charged with criminal association, attack and conspiracy against the government, undermining the external security of the state, possession, carrying and transportation of weapons of war and complicity in these crimes.

MINUSMA is one of the forces operating in Côte d’Ivoire trying to help the country fight rebels with links to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, which began their operations in 2012 and have spread their influence across northern and central Mali.

Ever since the arrest of the troops, tension have been building up between Mali and Cote d’Ivoire on one hand, and between Mali and the international community on the other. In a sense, it almost like the military government of Col. Assimi Goita who took over power in a 2020 coup d’etat, is playing Russian roulette with the rest of the world. Since the coup, the government has faced pressure from ECOWAS and world leaders to relinquish power.

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But the arrest of the 49 Ivorian troops, with three later released, has given the Malian government a bargaining chip which it has used most effectively and has rejected pleas from ECOWAS leaders, including President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria to release them. This has been a blow to all of the leaders in West Africa, who have sat watching, while the government in Mali flex it muscles after hiring Russian mercenaries to protect it and help with the war against rebels. Goita is not only ignoring pleas to release the troops, his government is succeeding in pushing out the MINUSMA troops from a number of countries. France was the very first to leave, citing the earlier agreement the military junta had signed with the Wagner Group, the Russian military contractors. But in a direct response to the detention of the Ivorian troops, not only the country itself, but the United Kingdom is also withdrawing troops from the UN mission in Mali. On November 14, 2002, the UK announced it would be withdrawing its 300 peacekeepers from Mali, saying the country’s growing reliance on Russian mercenaries is undermining stability.Cote d’Ivoire too will be withdrawing its military contingent from the United Nations mission in Mali (MINUSMA) after the continued detention of 46  of her soldiers who have been accused of being mercenaries. This was contained in a letter, which was sent to the UN secretary-general. Ivorian officials said they would not replace their personnel in MINUSMA when the current group rotates out in August. That country had 857 personnel serving in Mali as of June.

Mali’s government has hinted at releasing the troops in exchange for the extradition of Malians living in Côte d’ Ivoire. The government has described this as unacceptable blackmail and is warning of a breach of peace in the West African subregion. President Alassane Outtara said latest development are liable to harm peace and security in the sub-region and this is evident in the tension that is building up between other West African countries and the world’s super powers, who are extending their competition for dominance to Africa, with security consequences for the entire continent.

ECOWAS leaders have given a January 1, 2023 deadline to the government in Mali to release the remaining 46 Ivorian troops, after which it will apply more sanctions on the country. The African Union and the UN have also been working behind the scenes to ease the tensions caused by the detention of the soldiers. But from all indications, the involvement of world powers in this potentially explosive conflict will only aggravate the already tensed situation. We call on ECOWAS leaders to double their efforts and douse the tension before it gets out of hand. The government in Mali must also understand that they are taking an unsustainable position by holding the 46 soldiers and challenging all of her neighbours at the same time.