hostage for nearly two years, Olivier Dubois was released

The wide smile of Olivier Dubois, and the colleagues waiting for him at Niamey airport (Niger). It is the return of the French journalist, Monday, March 20, after almost two years of detention. An American aid worker was also released. Olivier Dubois spent endless months in the Sahel desert, at the hands of jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda. “I feel tired, but I’m fine”, reassured the French journalist. He now has only one hurry, to find his family. “I only think about this”he confided.

Emmanuel Macron thanks Niger

Olivier Dubois, 48, is a freelance journalist based in Mali. When he was kidnapped on April 8, 2021, he was in Gao (Mali), a city in the north of the country. His captors make him record two videos, in which he asks for his release. These proofs of life are reassuring, but his relatives, including his wife, are growing impatient and are asking France to intervene. Support committees are set up. Today, the emotion of his friends, who fought for his return, is intense. Olivier Dubois will be on the morning of Tuesday March 21 in France. Emmanuel Macron thanks Niger, neighbor of Mali, for having worked for his release.