A court in Mali sentenced 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast to 20 years imprisonment for conspiring against the government, and three others to death in absentia. Forty-nine Ivorian soldiers were arrested at the airport in Mali's capital Bamako in July, three of whom were later released. Their arrests led to a diplomatic dispute between the neighbouring countries and widespread condemnation from regional allies. Mali's ruling junta said the soldiers were acting as mercenaries, while Ivory Coast said they were part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission. They were charged with attempting to undermine state security in August and convicted at…