Mali: Authorities announced on Friday that Mali's military junta leader had pardoned 49 soldiers from neighbouring Ivory Coast who had been convicted of undermining state security and conspiring against the government.
Col. Assimi Goita granted the pardon, demonstrating "once again his commitment to peace, dialogue, pan-Africanism, and the preservation of fraternal and secular relations with regional countries, particularly those between Mali and Ivory Coast," according to a statement from the government's spokesman, Col. Abdoulaye Maiga.
The pardon comes less than a week after 46 soldiers were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The three other defendants, all of whom had been released in September, were tried and sentenced to death in absentia.
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The 49 soldiers were detained in July after going to work for Sahelian Aviation Services, a private company hired by the UN to work in Mali. West African leaders set a Jan. 1 deadline for Mali to release the soldiers, which was missed. According to the government statement, the decision to pardon the soldiers exemplifies Goita's concern for good governance and respect for independent justice. Goita seized power in two coups, the first in 2020 and the second the following year, after firing the transitional government's president and prime minister.
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For over a decade, Mali has been embroiled in jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Analysts believe that the release of the Ivorian soldiers is intended to send a good faith signal to Ivory Coast and demonstrate that the junta is in complete control, while also distracting the public from the country's security crisis.
"It also sends a strong message to other foreign governments and (aid) organisations to stay behind the junta's figurative red line," said Laith Alkhouri, CEO of Intelonyx Intelligence Advisory, which provides intelligence analysis.
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"Do not meddle in state affairs," he said, despite the fact that large parts of Mali have become a playground for international terrorist groups and warring factions that have spilled over into Burkina Faso and other Sahelian nations.