French journalist Olivier Dubois was released after being kidnapped in Mali on 8 April 2021 in the Gao region (North) by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jnim), the Sahel affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The journalist himself announced his abduction in a video posted on social networks on 5 May 2021. "He was going to Gao to interview a jihadist leader. We now know that he was trapped by thugs who then handed him over to the Jnim," said Wassim Nasr, a specialist in jihadism issues at France 24.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on December 10, 2022, during a trip to Côte d'Ivoire, that the France was doing "everything possible to allow the release" of the French journalist.
Olivier Dubois worked for Libération, Le Point and Jeune Afrique, he remained in captivity for almost two years. He was the only French hostage not held by a state in the world since the release in October 2020 of Sophie Petronin, also kidnapped in Mali.
>> See also on France 24: Déborah Al Hawi Al Masri, companion of Olivier Dubois, hostage in Mali: "I do not lose hope"
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