French journalist Olivier Dubois on his way to the France. The former hostage, who spent nearly two years in the hands of jihadists in Mali, is to be welcomed at the Villacoublay air base, near Paris, by French President Emmanuel Macron.
He was able to leave Niger on Tuesday morning for Paris after his release at the same time as that of another American hostage, held for more than six years.
The journalist appeared smiling and visibly moved, Monday afternoon, as he got off the plane at Niamey airport, where he was accompanied by Jeffery Woodke, an American humanitarian who had been kidnapped on October 14, 2016 in Niger. "I feel tired but I'm fine," the 48-year-old French journalist said after giving brief hugs to reporters present.
Olivier Dubois, a freelance journalist, was kidnapped on 8 April 2021 in Gao, northern Mali, by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda. Collaborating, among others, with the daily Libération and the magazine Le Point, he lived and worked in Mali since 2015.
Emmanuel Macron had expressed Monday his "immense relief" and showed his "great gratitude to Niger for this release", after speaking on the phone with the journalist.
At least three Western hostages are still being held in the Sahel: Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott, kidnapped in Burkina Faso on 15 January 2016; Romanian security officer Iulian Ghergut, kidnapped on 4 April 2015 in Burkina Faso. Finally, a German cleric, Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, who has not been heard from since November 2022, is considered to have been abducted in Mali.
With AFP
The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app