French journalist Olivier Dubois, hostage for nearly two years of jihadists in Mali, landed in France on Tuesday March 21. He had left Niger the morning after his release which occurred at the same time as that of an American hostage held for more than six years. The French president welcomed the ex-hostage to the air base of Villacoublay, near Paris.
On his arrival in Niamey on Monday afternoon, the journalist appeared smiling and visibly moved when he got off the plane, 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,” said the 48-year-old French journalist, after giving brief hugs to the reporters present.
Olivier Dubois, a freelance journalist, was kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao, northern Mali, by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaida. He collaborated in particular with the daily Liberation and the magazine Le Point, and lived and worked in Mali since 2015 when he was kidnapped.
“It’s huge for me to be here, to be free”
Olivier Dubois, of whom it is not known whether or not he remained in Mali throughout his detention, was the last Frenchman held hostage by an organization other than a State since the release, in October 2020, of Sophie Pétronin, also kidnapped in mali. “It’s huge for me to be here, to be free, I wanted to pay tribute to Niger for its know-how in this delicate mission and to pay tribute to France and to all those who allowed me to be here today,” he said on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday expressed his “tremendous relief” and expressed his “great gratitude to Niger for this release”, after talking to the journalist on the phone. Alongside Olivier Dubois, Jeffery Woodke, white hair and supported by a cane, wished Monday “to thank the Nigerian, American and French governments”.
” Long live France ! exclaimed the man who had been abducted when he had been helping nomadic populations for thirty years with a non-governmental organization in Abalak, in central Niger. US President Joe Biden said he was “pleased that he will soon be with his wife, Els, and their family,” according to a statement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Niamey last week, thanked the Nigerien government for its “significant assistance” in the release of Mr. Woodke.
The circumstances of their release remain unknown at this time. “The hostages were recovered safe and sound by Nigerien authorities before being handed over to French and American authorities,” Nigerien Interior Minister Hamadou Souley said Monday at the airport.
At least three Western hostages still held in the Sahel
During his 711 days of detention, only two videos of Olivier Dubois had been published on social networks. The first, on May 5, 2021, where he himself announced his kidnapping, and another, after almost a year of silence, broadcast on March 13, 2022, without indicating the date on which the images had been shot.
“It’s just amazing, it’s something we’ve been waiting for for two years. For him the nightmare is over, and for his family too. He will be able to resume his life, even if it will be difficult for him to forget that, “said Olivier Dubois’ sister, Canèle Bernard. The editorial staff of Liberation also expressed their “tremendous joy”.
Mali, like its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, is going through a serious security crisis with recurrent jihadist attacks. Kidnappings are one of the serious dangers faced by journalists and humanitarian workers, both local and foreign, in the Sahel. Two employees of the Malian branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross kidnapped between Gao and Kidal, in northern Mali two weeks ago, were also released on Sunday evening.
At least three Western hostages are still being held in the Sahel: Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott, kidnapped in Burkina Faso on January 15, 2016, and Romanian security officer Iulian Ghergut, kidnapped on April 4, 2015 in Burkina Faso. A German cleric, Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, of whom we have not heard from since November 2022, is considered to have been kidnapped in Mali.
