Issued on: 21/08/2022 – 17:19
Sunday marks the 500th day of imprisonment for French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was kidnapped in northern Mali in April 2021 by Al Qaeda-affiliated militants. France says it is fully committed to its liberation, despite the withdrawal of French troops from the country.
France’s relations with Mali have deteriorated sharply since a junta took power in the West African country in an August 2020 coup, ultimately leading to the withdrawal of French troops completed this week after a nine-year campaign to combating jihadist insurgents.
“The withdrawal of Operation Barkhane from Mali does not affect France’s commitment to secure the release of Olivier Dubois,” François Delmas, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry, said on Friday, referring to the anti-jihadist mission of Olivier Dubois. France in the Sahel region.
Dubois, a freelance journalist who has lived and worked in Mali since 2015, announced his kidnapping in a video posted on social media on May 5, 2021. He said he was abducted on April 8 in the city of Gao by members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM, the leading jihadist group in the Sahel.
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