Mali's military junta leader on Friday pardoned 49 soldiers from neighboring Ivory Coast who were convicted of undermining Mali's state security and conspiracy against the government, authorities announced.
Col. Assimi Goita granted the pardon and “demonstrates once again his commitment to peace, dialogue, pan-Africanism and the preservation of fraternal and secular relations with regional countries, in particular those between Mali and Ivory Coast," said a statement from Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, the government spokesman.
