Convicted by the Malian courts and then pardoned by the authorities in Bamako, the 49 Ivorian soldiers who returned home on January 6, after six months of detention, were made Knights of the National Order of the Republic. A distinction for services rendered to the nation.
In addition to his now ex-detainees, Ivorian soldiers from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali have also been decorated. In all, 850 soldiers and two gendarmes.
“Ivorian blue helmets of the Minusma, while you were engaged in the framework of African solidarity, an unfortunate episode wanted to taint your mission, our mission. However, you continued to serve with an equal quality imprinted almost with stoicism, continuing to pay blood money on land where your brothers in arms were unjustly detained for reasons other than a violation of any provision,” said Lassina Doumbia, chief of staff of the Ivorian army.
The case of the 49 Ivorian soldiers poisoned relations between Abidjan and Bamako for six months.
Côte d’Ivoire has always claimed that they were on a mission for the UN, as part of logistical support operations for Minusma. It announced in November the gradual withdrawal of its troops from this mission by August 2023.
870 Ivorian soldiers are currently deployed in this context, 650 in Timbuktu (north-west) and 220 in Mopti (center), according to an Ivorian army communication officer.
After months of growing tensions between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, in particular, at the time of the arrest of the soldiers, the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara had declared on the day of their return that he wanted to “resume normal relations” with Bamako.