West African leaders met in Abuja on Sunday, where they issued a demand to Mali’s ruling junta to free 46 Ivorian troops being held captive since July or face sanctions.
Omar Touray, chairman of the ECOWAS commission, told reporters, “We want the Malian authorities to release the Ivorian soldiers by January 1, 2023, at the latest.”
A West African diplomat who spoke to AFP anonymously said that ECOWAS would impose sanctions if that failed. In addition, Touray stated that ECOWAS would take action if the soldiers were not released by January 1.
The West African ambassador added that Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé, mediating between Mali and Ivory Coast, will travel there to “demand” the soldiers’ release.
Since Mali arrested 49 Ivorian soldiers upon their arrival in Bamako on July 10, tensions have been high with Côte d’Ivoire and ECOWAS. Three were eventually let free.
According to Côte d’Ivoire and the UN, these men were supposed to help protect the German forces stationed in Mali. Bamako, however, claims they are “mercenaries” out to undermine Mali’s national security.