Freed Ivorian soldiers return home after six months

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Forty six Ivorian soldiers returned home to cheers and celebrations after being detained for six months in Mali.

The soldiers waved flags and saluted Ivorian officials while they descended from the military plane in Abidjan on Saturday evening.

In July, forty-nine soldiers were arrested as they tried to go to work for Sahelian Aviation Services. This private company was contracted by the United Nations to work in Mali. They were considered mercenaries by Mali and were detained.

The soldiers were pardoned last week after 46 of them were sentenced to 20 years in prison for undermining state security in Mali and for attacks on Mali’s government. Three other defendants, all women, who were released in September, were tried and sentenced in absentia.

Alassane Ouattara from Ivory Coast, the president of the country, stated that they should not blame themselves for what happened.

“The mission was not easy but you are back exactly six months after your departure from the Ivory Coast,” Ouattara said.

The soldiers were joined by emotional family and friends, who shook hands with the president and took photographs.

“I am very happy to return to my native land. It was our wish,” Sergeant Youssouf Dah, one of the soldiers who returned, said. “Today his excellency the president of the republic (and) supreme commander of the armed forces has made an effort so that we can find our families,” he said.

Mali’s government claimed that the decision by the military to pardon the soldiers is a sign of its commitment to dialogue and peace and good relations with Ivory Coast.

Since a decade, Mali is a victim of jihadi violence linked with al-Qaida/the Islamic State group. Analysts believe that the release the Ivorian soldiers will send a signal of good faith to Ivory Coast, show that the government is in complete control, and distract from the security crisis that is engulfing the country.