Mali has freed more than 100 suspected or convicted
jihadists as part of negotiations for the release of a prominent
Malian politician and a kidnapped French charity worker, sources
close to the talks said Monday.
“As part of the negotiations to obtain the release of Soumaila
Cisse and Sophie Petronin, more than one hundred jihadist prisoners
were released this weekend,” one of those in charge of the
negotiations, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
An official at the security services confirmed the
information.
The prisoners were released in the central region of Niono and
in Tessalit in the north after arriving by plane, the official
said.
A lawmaker in Tessalit, who also requested anonymity, confirmed
to AFP that “large numbers of jihadist prisoners” arrived there on
Sunday.
Sophie Petronin, a French charity worker, was abducted by gunmen
on December 24, 2016, in the northern city of Gao.
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The last video in which she appeared was received in June 2018.
She appeared tired and emaciated and appealed to French President
Emmanuel Macron. In another video, in November 2018, in which she
did not appear, her kidnappers said her health had
deteriorated.
Soumaila Cisse is a former opposition leader and three-time
presidential candidate. He was seized on March 25 while campaigning
in his home region of Niafounke ahead of legislative elections.
Mali, supported by France and UN peacekeepers, is struggling
with an eight-year-old Islamist insurgency that has claimed
thousands of lives.
A military junta overthrew president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in
August, before taking over leadership of the West African
nation
-AFP
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