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| Africa North | |||
| French Free Dutch Hostage in Mali Four Years after Kidnap | |||
| 2015-04-07 | |||
La Belle France's defense ministry said Sjaak Rijke, kidnapped in Timbuktu in northern Mali in November 2011, was freed during "military action carried out by the French army's special forces." "This combat action has also led to the capture of several individuals," added the ministry, referring to the dawn raid against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). It said Rijke was "safe and sound." French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... also spoke of the operation, saying the freed hostage had been transported to a safe location and that a number of suspected jihadists had been killed. He said the French soldiers were not aware of the hostage's location before the raid against the Lion of Islams.
He said the assault occurred near Tessalit in Mali's far north, near the border with Algeria. Asked whether the hostage was in good condition, Hollande said "as much as possible after four years of captivity." "It was a surprise for us -- for our forces -- to be able to free this hostage because we did not have information" about his presence, he said, without providing further details. Gunmen had stormed into Rijke's hotel capturing him as well as a South African and a Swede, both of whom are still being held. Rijke, who was 51 when he was kidnapped, and his wife were described in the Dutch media as seasoned travelers who were on a "dream trip" to cross the Sahara. In November 2014, AQIM released a video of Rijke making a statement on the 1,000th day of his captivity. Also seen on the video was Frenchie Serge Lazarevic, who was later freed in a prisoner swap against four jihadists in Mali. Mali's vast desert north is riven by ethnic rivalries and an Islamist insurgency. Jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda controlled Mali's north for more than nine months in 2012 until they were routed by a French-led military intervention, but Lion of Islam fighters remain active throughout the restive northeast. Mali is also struggling with ethnic Tuareg snuffies fighting the army over northern territory they claim as their homeland and call Azawad.
The troops he spoke of serve under the Barkhane operation targeting jihadists in the Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... La Belle France announced last month that it would further boost its military presence in the Sahel to also support the fight against Nigeria's Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Islamists. | |||
| Posted by:trailing wife |