A senior government official and a journalist abducted by suspected jihadists in Mali have been freed on Monday thanks to action by state security. The duo have gone on to thank the Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita who received them at the Presidential Palace.
Makan Doumbia, the prefect of Tenenkou commune in central Mali was abducted in the Mopti region in May 8 last year and is now being treated in intensive care in the capital Bamako.
Malian journalist Issiaka Tamboura, who was kidnapped in central Mali in December, was also released and taken to hospital in Bamako.
According to Kisal, a rights group for nomadic communities on its Facebook page says elsewhere in the Mopti region, four hostages who also happen to be members of the Bozo ethnic group, taken by suspected jihadists were killed at Toguere-Koumbe last week.
A peace agreement signed in 2015 by the Bamako government and armed groups was aimed at restoring stability, but the accord has failed to stop violence by Islamist militants – who have also staged attacks in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.