Journalist Olivier Dubois, the final French hostage, has been launched from captivity
Olivier Dubois, a French journalist who was kidnapped by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Assist Islam and Muslims within the Gao (North) area of Mali on April 8, 2021, was launched on Monday and transferred to neighboring Niger.
DuBois’ launch got here as hostage Jeff Woodkey was freed after greater than six years in captivity in Africa.
After being launched from captivity, Dubois arrived at Niamey airport in neighboring Niger on Monday afternoon. An image taken on the airport confirmed him smiling and sporting a white shirt and beige pants.
Libération d’Olivier Dubois CE in Niamey. Sommes à l’aéroport où Olivier vient d’arriver. Liber!! Finn calvary of 711 days. Joey’s great and energetic enorme
The journalist introduced his kidnapping in a video that appeared on social media on Could 5, 2021. “He was on his technique to Gao to satisfy a jihadist chief.
We now know that he was captured by thugs who then handed him over,” mentioned France 24 jihadist skilled Wassim Nasr. to GSIM.
Throughout a visit to Ivory Coast on December 10, 2022, French International Minister Catherine Colonna mentioned France was doing “the whole lot it may” to safe the journalist’s launch.
Dubois labored for a number of French information shops, together with Libération, Le Level, and Jeune Afrique, when he was kidnapped.
He was held for about two years. Till his launch, he was the one French hostage nonetheless in captivity because the launch in October 2020 of Sophie Petronin, a charity employee kidnapped in Mali in 2016.
The discharge of the US hostage kidnapped in Niger got here as US hostage Jeff Woodk was freed after greater than six years in captivity in Africa, White Home Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned Monday.
“I’m grateful and relieved to see the discharge of US hostage Jeff Woodkey after over 6 years in captivity,” Sullivan mentioned on Twitter. Sullivan thanked Niger for “serving to her get him dwelling”.
A senior US official advised the Related Press that Woodky’s launch got here after years of effort. No ransom was paid and no concessions have been made to the abductors, the official mentioned.
( Jowhar with Agence France-Presse and Related Press)
