During his greetings to the nation, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said that the 46 Ivorian soldiers sentenced in Mali will return “soon” to Côte d’Ivoire.
” My thoughts go particularly to our soldiers detained in the mali since July 10, 2022 “, declared the Ivorian president during the traditional speech of the head of state for New Year’s Eve.
This Saturday night, Alassane Ouattara indicated that the 46 soldiers ” will soon return to Ivorian soil “. The 46 soldiers were sentenced in Mali to 20 years in prisonto ” attack and conspiracy against the government ” and ” undermining the external security of the state “. Since their arrest on July 10, 2022, Abidjan has claimed that they were on a mission for the United Nations.
The Ivorian president took the opportunity to salute the diplomacy that has been activated on this file. ” Thanks to diplomatic actions undertaken with the support of leaders of several friendly countries, in particular the President of the Togolese Republic, His Excellency Mr. Faure Gnassingbé, three female soldiers were released last September. The other 46 soldiers will soon return to Ivorian soil “said Alassane Ouattara.
For his part, the president of the PDCI, Henri Konan Bédié encouraged the Ivorian government to continue “ diplomatic efforts “.
The former Ivorian president also asks the government to ” create the conditions ” for a ” release without delay of Pulchérie Gbalet, this leader of the Ivorian Citizen Alternative organization, arrested and imprisoned since August 22, 2022. Pulchérie Gbalet is being prosecuted for “ agreement with the agents of a foreign power “.