ABIDJAN - Côte d'Ivoire has announced the gradual withdrawal of its troops from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali by August 2023, a decision that comes against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions between Abidjan and Bamako for several months.
No official reason is given for this withdrawal, but relations between Côte d'Ivoire and the UN have become considerably strained in recent months, particularly after the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako last July.
After three releases, 46 of them are still being held in Mali; Bamako accuses them of being mercenaries, while Abidjan asserts that they were supposed to participate in the security of the German contingent of Blue Helmets in Mali
