The soldiers were pardoned by Mali’s ruling junta on Friday, after being sentenced to 20 years in prison each. They landed at the airport in the city of Abidjan late on Saturday.
— Now that this crisis is behind us, we can resume normal relations with the brotherly country of Mali, which needs us and which we also need, says Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara in a speech at the airport.
The judges defused the diplomatic row that led West African Ecowas to say the cooperation body would impose sanctions on Mali if the soldiers were not released.
The soldiers concerned were flown last July to Mali in support of the German units participating in the UN’s peacekeeping operation in the country. But they were arrested shortly after landing in Mali’s capital, Bamako, branded as mercenaries and accused of trying to undermine security.