Pardoned Ivory Coast soldiers return from Mali

(8 Jan 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Abidjan - 7 January 2023
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Wide of Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport in Abidjan
2. Men holding a banner to thank the president for freeing the 46 soldiers
3. Close of Ivory Coast flag
4. Various of soldiers welcomed by the president and the government upon arrival
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Alassane Ouattara, President of the Ivory Coast:
"You have nothing to reproach yourself for, as the Minister of Defence said. You were going on a mission, it was, moreover, the 8th rotation, in six months. The mission was not easy but you are back exactly six months after your departure from the Ivory Coast."
6. Various of the 46 soldiers
7. Soldiers singing next to the president
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Sergent Dah Youssouf, soldier:
"I am very happy to return to my native land, it was our wish. Today with his Excellency the President of the Republic, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (Alassane Ouattara), has made his effort so that we can find our families and our native land'."
9. Soldiers taking photo with President Alassane Ouattara
STORYLINE:
The 46 Ivorian military detained in Mali returned to Abidjan on Saturday at midnight - they were welcomed by President Alassane Ouattara and the entire government.

Mali’s military junta leader on Friday pardoned 49 soldiers from neighboring Ivory Coast who were convicted of undermining Mali’s state security and conspiracy against the government, authorities announced.

Col. Assimi Goita granted the pardon and “demonstrates once again his commitment to peace, dialogue, pan-Africanism and the preservation of fraternal and secular relations with regional countries, in particular those between Mali and Ivory Coast,” said a statement from Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, the government spokesperson.

The pardon comes one week after 46 of the soldiers were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The three other defendants, all women who had been released in September, were tried in absentia and sentenced to death.

The 49 soldiers were detained in July when they went to work for Sahelian Aviation Services, a private company contracted to work in Mali by the United Nations.

A Jan. 1 deadline set by West African leaders for Mali to release the soldiers was missed.

The decision to pardon the soldiers symbolizes Goita’s concern for good governance and respect for independent justice, the government statement said.

Goita seized power in two coups, first in 2020 and then the following year, when he took control after firing the president and prime minister of the transitional government.

AP video shot by Hilaire Zon

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