Mali yawakamata wanajeshi 50 wa Ivory Coast, yadaiwa ni mamluki

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Serikali ya Mali inawashikilia wanajeshi 50 wa Ivory Coast ikidai ni mamluki waliowasili Nchini humo kwa mgongo wa kuwa wanafanya kazi na Umoja wa Mataifa

Msemaji wa Serikali ya Mali, Abdoulaye Maiga amesema wanajeshi hao waliwasili kinyume cha sheria akiwaita watu hao ni ‘mamluki’ na kuwa Serikali ya Mpito imeamua kuwasilisha kesi hiyo kwenye mamlaka husika ya Mahakama

Awali, mwanadiplomasia wa Ivory Coast alisema baadhi ya wanajeshi hao walipelekwa kujiunga na kikosi cha wanajeshi wa Umoja wa mataifa wa kulinda usalama (MINUSMA).

Kikosi hicho kimesema kinaamini wanajeshi hao walikuwa katika kitengo ambacho kinatoa msaada wa kimkakati kwa kikosi cha jeshi la Ivory Coast chini ya ujumbe wa MINUSMA.

Msemaji wa UN, Olivier Salgado amesema wanajeshi hao wa Ivory Coast wamekuwa ni sehemu ya mwendelezo wa mradi wao wanaofanya kazi chini ya Kampuni ya Ujerumani iliyopewa mkataba na UN katika mradi wa Sahelian Aviation Services.


Source: France24

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Mali authorities arrest nearly 50 soldiers from Ivory Coast

Malian authorities arrested nearly 50 soldiers from Ivory Coast who came to Mali to work for a contracting company of the United Nations mission in Mali. The government made the announcement Monday calling the Ivorian soldiers “mercenaries,” in a move that could raise tensions between the two West African countries.

Two aircraft arrived at Mali’s international airport Sunday with the 49 soldiers “with their weapons and ammunition of war, as well as other military equipment,” said Malian government spokesman Col. Abdoulaye Maiga. They “were illegally on the national territory of Mali,” and the transitional government considers them mercenaries, he added.

U.N. mission spokesman Olivier Salgado said these Ivorian soldiers “are not part of one of the MINUSMA contingents, but have been deployed for several years in Mali as part of logistical support on behalf of one of our contingents.” He said that their arrival as relief would have been communicated beforehand to the national authorities. They are working for a German company that is contracted by the U.N. mission known as the Sahelian Aviation Services.

Government spokesman Maiga said they would put an end to the protection activity of the Sahelian Aviation Services by foreign forces and demand their departure from Malian territory. The government invited “the airline “Sahelian Aviation Services “to henceforth entrust its security to the Malian defense and security forces,” he said.

Mali’s transitional government affirmed in June that it will not authorize the U.N. mission to investigate ongoing human rights violations in Mali, adding to further tensions as France also withdraws its forces.