The release of Olivier Dubois, the journalist hostage in Mali – Liberation

The arrest of the “Liberation” correspondent, a hostage for nearly two years in the Sahel region, ended on Monday, March 20. Must arrive overnight on French soil, at Villacoublay airport.

finally. Olivier Dubois, hostage of seven hundred and eleven days in the Sahel, free. Journalist reporter launchthe a point And African youth In Mali, he was kidnapped in Gao on April 8, 2021, where he had gone to meet a jihadist cadre. His captivity lasted almost two years. This Monday, March 20, 2023, his ordeal is over. to his family, friends, loved ones and colleagues in launchAnd the convenience is enormous. To the point of this sinisterly long wait which intimately gnawed at all those who had rallied for his release.

Olivier himself announced his abduction, in a twenty-one-second video clip shot in a tent, somewhere in the desert. Sitting cross-legged in front of the camera, he said he had been kidnapped by the Islam and Muslim Support Group (Al-Junaim, as it is Arabic for its acronym). The movie was released on May 3, 2021. Since then, very rare evidence of life has reached his family. His captors released a second video on March 13, 2022. As for the third, which was kept secret, it was obtained by the French authorities at the beginning of the year, this time through a dedicated negotiating channel. “A very encouraging sign,” Then the team responsible for the file was suspended.

So it seems that the negotiations have been completed – without disclosing the counterparties, as is customary in this line of business. Olivier disappeared in Mali, and reappeared in Niger. The Niamey authorities have certainly been involved in the discussions – at least on logistical issues, to facilitate the process of extracting the hostage. Since the end of Operation Barkhane and the departure of its last soldiers from Mali last summer, the French army has repositioned itself in this neighboring country, Mali, which is also facing an armed Islamic rebellion. President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected in February 2021, is an excellent expert on the dynamics and actors in northern Mali, geographically closer to Niamey than to Bamako.

Jeffrey Woodkey, who was kidnapped in October 2016 in Niger, was released at the same time as Olivier Dubois. With his NGO, he came to the aid of the nomadic population of the Abalak region of Niger. According to Nigerian security sources, after being kidnapped by a jihadist group, he was kidnapped and detained in Mali.

Olivier should arrive at night on French soil, at the Villacoublay military airfield, near Paris. There will be officials to make speeches. But now the former hostage will hear above all, directly, for the first time in two years, familiar voices. Friendly arms will embrace him. Familiar lips will touch him. He will see his children soon. He will probably never forget this moment. And neither do we.

Updated at 3:30 PM on March 20 By releasing Jeffrey Woodkey