Mali: Ouattara Hopes for Normal Relations With Mali After Release of ‘Mercenaries’

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara has said he hopes Côte d’Ivoire and Mali can move on from the diplomatic crisis sparked by the arrest last year in Bamako of a contingent of Ivorian soldiers, accused by Mali of being mercenaries.

Forty-six Ivorian soldiers arrived in Abidjan last weekend, having been pardoned by the neighbouring country’s junta.

The troops, whose detention triggered a bitter diplomatic row between the countries, were arrested on 10 July 2022, on arrival in the Malian capital…