Mali Announces Release of 82 Soldiers Held Captive by Armed Groups

A Malian soldier in position during an attack on Mali's main military base Kati outside the capital, Bamako [File: Reuters]

Mali has confirmed that 82 of its soldiers, who were previously held as prisoners by armed groups in the country’s northern region, have now been successfully released and placed into government care.

The announcement was made by the Malian army on Thursday through a formal statement broadcast on state television. According to the military, the freed personnel had been taken hostage by al-Qaeda-linked fighters and a separatist rebel group following nationwide attacks in April.

The official statement noted that this release marks the successful end of a process that began immediately after their initial capture, confirming that all freed soldiers are currently safe and receiving proper attention from authorities.

Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) had previously claimed responsibility for a coordinated series of attacks on April 25 that targeted Bamako’s airport alongside several other locations. During this period, Defence Minister Sadio Camara lost his life in a bombing that struck his residence in Kati.

Both factions also claimed responsibility for subsequent assaults on army positions across Mali on July 4.

Meanwhile, the FLA released its own statement on Thursday stating that it had freed approximately 80 Malian soldiers who had been taken prisoner between the years 2023 and 2026. The group did not immediately clarify the discrepancy regarding the army's assertion that the soldiers had been detained since the April 25 attacks.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the FLA, stated that the release was carried out strictly for humanitarian reasons. He added that certain captives had been held since 2023, while roughly 118 others remain in captivity.

An official source within Mali’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the AFP news agency that the liberation of the soldiers was mediated by Algeria.

Mali has continued to face an ongoing civil war originating in 2012, when a Tuareg separatist uprising in the north paved the way for armed campaigns spearheaded by groups associated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). The nation has remained under military rule following a coup in 2021, with leaders pledging to restore public order and unite the country.

JNIM has grown stronger since the military government expelled French forces as well as approximately 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers, choosing instead to rely on Russian paramilitaries for defense support.

Despite the ideological differences between the FLA—which positions itself as a secular nationalist movement fighting for the independence of Mali’s Azawad region—and JNIM, an al-Qaeda-affiliated entity, both organizations have temporarily set aside their differences to jointly oppose the Malian government.