Mali: 2 hostages freed by extremists on plane to capital

In this video grab made on June 13, 2018 from an undated and unlocated video provided by the SITE Intelligence Group shows 75 years-old Frenchwoman Sophie Petronin, a hostage held by Al-Qaeda's Mali branch after she was kidnapped in Gao, Northern Mali. (AFP)

BAMAKO: Malis's presidency confirmed Thursday that prominent Malian politician Soumaila Cisse and French aid worker Sophie Petronin are aboard a flight to the capital, Bamako, after being freed by al-Qaeda-linked militants.
The flight took off just before 7 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) from the northern town of Tessalit and was expected to arrive about 2 1/2 hours later, presidential spokesman Adam Thiam said.
Petronin, 75, who was helping orphans at the time of her abduction, had been held by Islamic extremists since December 2016. Cisse, 70, was kidnapped back in March while campaigning near Timbuktu.
The French government Twitter account shared the news, adding: “AT LAST!”
The hostages' release followed the freeing by Malian authorities of nearly 200 extremist prisoners over the weekend, which had fueled speculation that a prisoner exchange was imminent.
There was no immediate information on whether a ransom was paid. Extremist groups in the Sahel have long funded their organizations through kidnappings.
It also was not immediately known whether any other Western hostages were among the group. The al-Qaeda-linked group known as JNIM and its associates were believed to be holding at least seven others foreigners in addition to Petronin.
They include Italians Pierluigi Maccalli and Nicola Ciacco, Australian doctor Ken Elliott, Colombian nun Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti, South African national Christo Bothma, Swiss national Beatrice Stockly and Romanian citizen Julian Ghergut.