DAKAR, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Mali’s army said 82 of its soldiers who had been held prisoner since nationwide attacks in April by al Qaeda-linked militants and a rebel group were freed on Thursday.
• The regional al Qaeda affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), and Tuareg-led rebel group, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), claimed responsibility for the attacks on April 25, which hit the main airport and killed the defence minister.
• The two groups also claimed responsibility for attacks on army positions across Mali on July 4.
• The army said in a statement the soldiers had been “held hostage” by “armed terrorist groups affiliated with the JNIM-FLA coalition”.
• “This liberation … is the result of rigorous planning and the coordinated mobilisation of the capabilities required to carry out this type of operation,” the statement said.
• The FLA said in a statement on Thursday that it had released 82 Malian soldiers taken prisoner during clashes between 2023 and 2026. The group did not immediately explain the discrepancy with the army’s account that the soldiers had been held since the April 25 attacks.
• Mali has been fighting insurgencies since 2012. Founded in 2017, JNIM has gained in strength since the Malian soldiers who seized power in 2020 and 2021 coups kicked out some 15,000 French and U.N. soldiers and turned to Russian mercenaries for defence support.
(Reporting by Portia Crowe and Mali newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams and Sanjeev Miglani)
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