The French Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that France was doing “everything possible to allow the release” of Olivier Dubois, hostage in Mali, while a German humanitarian was released in Niger.
"Good news on the side of Niger does not necessarily mean that there will be good news on the side of Mali", declared Catherine Colonna, in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of her visit to Abidjan, in Côte d'Ivoire. 'Ivory.
She recalled that Olivier Dubois had just passed the milestone of 20 months of deprivation of liberty after his abduction in Mali.
“We are doing everything possible to allow the release of Olivier Dubois and that of so many people held against their will and in defiance of all justice,” she added.
Olivier Dubois is the only French hostage not held by a state in the world since the release in October 2020 of Sophie Pétronin, also kidnapped in Mali.
France also considers that some of its nationals held prisoner in Iran are “State hostages”.
Oliver Dubois himself confirmed his abduction in a video posted on social networks on May 5, 2021. He explained that he had been kidnapped on April 8 in Gao, in northern Mali, by the Support Group for Islam and to Muslims (GSIM), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda.
In the meantime, France has put an end to its anti-jihadist operation Barkhane in the Sahel region, withdrawn its troops from Mali with which relations have greatly deteriorated, and is in the process of considering the resizing and reduction of its military footprint in the region, while continuing to collaborate with several countries in the region in their fight against jihadist groups.
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Niger
mali
Catherine Colonna
Hostage
sahel
Al-Qaeda