Mali says 82 soldiers held captive by armed groups in the country’s north have been released and placed in government custody.

The Malian army announced the release on Thursday in a statement broadcast on state television, saying the soldiers had been “held hostage” by al-Qaeda-linked fighters and a separatist rebel group since attacks across the country in April.

“This release is the culmination of a process initiated immediately after their capture,” the army said, adding that the soldiers were safe and receiving care from the authorities.

The al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on April 25 that targeted Bamako’s airport and several other locations.

Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in a bombing at his residence in Kati during the attacks.

The two groups also claimed responsibility for attacks on army positions across Mali on July 4.

However, the FLA said on Thursday that it had released about 80 Malian soldiers captured between 2023 and 2026, creating a discrepancy with the army’s account that the soldiers had been held since the April 25 attacks.

FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said the release was carried out for “strictly humanitarian” reasons.

He said some of the soldiers had been held since 2023 and that about 118 others remained in captivity.

A source at Mali’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP that the release was mediated by Algeria.

Mali has been embroiled in conflict since 2012, when a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north was followed by armed campaigns by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

The military has ruled the country since a 2021 coup, after which the junta pledged to restore security and reunify the country.

JNIM has strengthened its position since the military authorities expelled French forces and about 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers, while turning to Russian paramilitaries for security assistance.

Although the FLA presents itself as a secular nationalist movement seeking independence for Mali’s northern Azawad region, while JNIM is affiliated with al-Qaeda, the two groups have set aside their ideological differences to oppose the Malian government. (Arise News)

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