AFPCopyright: AFP
West African leaders have called for the release of 46 Ivorian soldiers being detained in Mali by 1 January.

The soldiers have been held for four months and are accused by Bamako of being mercenaries. Ivory Coast insists the soldiers were part of a peacekeeping mission in Mali.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) issued the ultimatum as it concluded its 62nd summit on Sunday evening in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

The bloc also announced the creation of a regional force to fight “terrorism and restore constitutional order” in some countries in the region.

Guinea was high on the Ecowas agenda, with leaders calling for an inclusive dialogue on a transition to civilian rule.

The bloc offered to host a meeting in another capital if it could not be held in the Guinean capital, Conakry.

Following a coup last September, the country was suspended from Ecowas and sanctions imposed on it.

Ecowas also expressed concern about the security and the humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso and said it would assist the country

On Mali, it said that while progress was being made in the country, the transition was being closely watched.