Two Algerian diplomats kidnapped in Mali in April 2012 by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) were freed on Saturday, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A third diplomat, Algerian consul Boualem Sayes, had died in captivity “from a chronic illness,” the ministry said.
It did not say whether Mourad Guessas and Kedour Miloudi had been released by their kidnappers or had been freed by the military.
Photo: AFP
The ministry did say that Algeria had not paid a ransom.
The two were released “after intense and tireless efforts” by authorities using “the utmost discretion,” a statement said.
It also confirmed for the first time the execution, reported in September 2012, of Algerian vice-consul Tahar Touati, describing his death as an “odious assassination.”
“The Algerian government stresses the necessity of continuing unabated the fight against terrorism and its multiple connections — drug trafficking and organized crime,” the ministry added.
The information was confirmed by a security source in Mali.
“A wing of the armed groups in northern Mali managed on Friday to secure the release of two Algerian diplomats from the hands of [the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa],” the source said.
The source said the hostages were released in the Algerian desert town of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, on the border with Mali.
Algeria’s consul in Gao, in northeastern Mali, and six of his staff were taken hostage by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad on April 5, 2012, while the militants were in control of the city.
Three groups, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, in 2012 took control of much of the north of Mali.
French troops later expelled them.
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