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He claims that the Malian junta has asked to extradite people who “destabilize” the country from the Ivory Coast
Sep. 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The National Security Council of Côte d’Ivoire has denounced “unacceptable blackmail” by the Malian military junta regarding the situation of the more than 40 Ivorian soldiers detained in July at the airport of the capital, Bamako.
The body, which held an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday headed by the country’s president, Alassane Ouattara, highlighted in a statement that the Malian authorities have demanded in return “the extradition of personalities who, according to them, benefit from the protection of Costa of Ivory to destabilize Mali”.
“This demand confirms, once again, the fact that our soldiers are in no case mercenaries, but hostages. The National Security Council considers this blackmail unacceptable and demands the immediate release of our 46 soldiers,” he said.
Thus, it has reiterated that the soldiers were deployed in Mali “in the framework of the eighth detachment of the national support element within the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)” and has highlighted that, although three of the 49 soldiers were released, he demands the release of the rest.
The organization has said in its statement that during the meeting Ouattara stated that “Ivory Coast, a country aligned with peace, stability and the rule of law in the subregion, cannot enroll in a logic of destabilization in a third country”.
“Remember that there are instructions that foreign political opponents living in Côte d’Ivoire must respect at all times, including a duty of absolute restraint regarding internal affairs in their countries of origin,” he said, thus rejecting any type of coverage. to possible subversive activities.
The Malian military junta had 49 soldiers from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire arrested as “mercenaries” when they landed in Bamako. The soldiers had the mission of relieving the troops that are securing a MINUSMA base at the capital’s airport, according to Yamoussoukro.
