French journalist Olivier Dubois, who has spent almost two years kidnapped in Mali by a jihadist group, was released in Niger and airlifted to the Villacoublay military airport near Paris.
As usually happens in these cases, it is unknown what kind of compensation their captors have received. Dubois was a correspondent for the daily Libération and for the magazines Le Point and Jeune Afrique.
He was kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao when he was going to interview a jihadist chief. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the release on Twitter.
At the same time as Dubois, the American Jeffrey Woodke, a member of a humanitarian NGO, kidnapped in October 2016 in Niger and later transferred to Mali, was also released.
Woodke was dedicated to helping the nomadic populations of the Abalak region of Niger. Woodke’s release was announced by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“I feel tired but I’m fine,” Dubois, 48, said as he got off the plane in Paris. “I would like to thank Niger for his efforts in this delicate mission, as well as France and all those who have made it possible for him to be here today,” he added.
