Dozens of Ivorian troops detained in Mali on suspicion of being mercenaries have been charged and remanded in custody, court sources said to AFP on Sunday.

However, negotiations between Ivory Coast and Mali to free the 49 soldiers were still ongoing, according to a source close to the talks.

According to a Malian court source, the troops were charged with attempting to disrupt national security on Friday by a prosecutor in Bamako. They have already been detained for more than a month.     Another source close to the judge, as well as a justice ministry official in Mali, verified the story to AFP.

The Ivory Coast has disputed the charge and asked that the troops be released, claiming that they were reinforcements for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA.

Negotiations to liberate the soldiers have begun, with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe serving as a mediator. According to a source close to the talks, they made some progress but "stalled over crucial topics," which could explain the return to the legal process. 

"Justice will continue its work, but the negotiations will also continue," the source said.

The troops' detention following their arrival at Bamako airport on July 10 triggered a diplomatic crisis between military-ruled Mali and its West African neighbor.

Talks deadlocked 

Diplomatic sources close to the discussions revealed that Mali is demanding that Ivory Coast accept responsibility for the incident and show remorse for the deployment of the soldiers.

Reports indicated that Bamako also wants Abidjan to hand over those who have been on its territory since 2013 and are wanted in Mali.    

They claimed that Ivory Coast has rejected both demands and is preparing for lengthy discussions to liberate its men.

The Ivory Coast claims the soldiers were wrongfully arrested at Bamako's airport after being dispatched to support the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. They say their role within the mission was "well-known to the Malian authorities".      

Mali's military-led administration, on the other hand, claims they were detained after landing on a special flight without proper documentation and refers to them as "mercenaries."      

Read next: UN peacekeeping rotations to resume in Mali starting Monday

A day after the troops were detained, MINUSMA spokesman Olivier Salgado endorsed Ivory Coast's claim, but the peacekeeping operation later acknowledged "dysfunctions" in the deployment of the Ivorian forces.

Mali's authorities then barred Salgado from the nation for publishing "inappropriate material" about the affair. It also suspended rotations of UN peacekeeping troops, but they are set to resume on Monday.    

The junta accused Ivory Coast of urging regional partners to impose harsh sanctions on Mali, which were later lifted.   

Since an August 2020 coup deposed elected leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita following huge demonstrations over the management of a long-running and brutal insurgency, Mali has been governed by the military.

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