Delegations from Mali and Ivory Coast met on Thursday with Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe who is mediating a dispute over the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako, sources close to the talks said.

Gnassingbe met separately with the delegations in the presidential palace in the capital Lome, the sources said.

The Togolese presidency did not publish any statement on the meeting.

Mali's military junta in July called for the Togolese leader to mediate in the dispute.

Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey last week visited Abidjan and Bamako to meet with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and Mali's transitional leader Assimi Goita.

The 49 Ivorian soldiers were detained after their arrival at Bamako airport on July 10.

Mali has called them "mercenaries", but Ivory Coast says they were sent to provide back-up duties for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

A UN spokesman has said that while they were not UN peacekeeping troops as such, they were part of "national support elements" routinely deployed by contributing countries.

Mali is struggling with a long jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

It is also in the grip of political upheaval after colonels angry at the government's handling of the insurgency seized power in August 2020.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Burundi secretly sent troops to DR Congo: rights group
Nairobi (AFP) July 27, 2022
Burundi has secretly sent hundreds of troops and members of a youth militia into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo since the end of 2021 to fight an armed rebel group, a Burundian human rights group said Wednesday. The main target of the operation is the RED-Tabara, the Burundi Human Rights Initiative said, referring to the most active of the rebel groups which is deemed a terrorist organisation by the Burundian government. Burundi has always denied carrying out any secret operations, in ... read more