The court in Mali sentenced 46 soldiers from the Ivory Coast to 20 years imprisonment for conspiring against the government.
The soldiers were also charged with the provision and transportation of weapons in the country. The trial of the 46 Ivorian troops wrapped up on Friday after opening in the capital Bamako on Thursday.
The Ivorians were found guilty of an “attack and conspiracy against the government” and seeking to undermine state security, public prosecutor Ladji Sara said in a statement.
Ivory Coast government and the United Nations (UN) say the troops were flown into Mali to provide security backup for the German contingent of the United Nation peacekeeping mission in Mali. But Mali’s military said the soldiers are acting as mercenaries in the country.