DAKAR — Mali's army said Thursday that 82 of its soldiers held captive since April have been freed, following attacks across the country by groups linked to al Qaeda and a Tuareg-led rebel faction.
The army said the soldiers had been held by "armed terrorist groups affiliated with the JNIM-FLA coalition." That coalition includes Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), a regional al Qaeda affiliate, and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led rebel organization.
Both JNIM and FLA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks on April 25 that struck Mali's main airport and killed the defense minister. The groups also claimed further attacks on army positions across Mali on July 4.
The army said the release was the product of "rigorous planning and the coordinated mobilisation of the capabilities required to carry out this type of operation." No further details were immediately provided.
The FLA issued its own statement Thursday saying it had released 82 Malian soldiers captured during clashes that occurred between 2023 and 2026—a timeline at odds with the army's account, which said the soldiers had been held since the April 25 attacks. The FLA offered no explanation for the discrepancy.
Mali has been dealing with insurgencies since 2012. JNIM, founded in 2017, has expanded its influence across the region. Its reach grew following military coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, after which the new leadership expelled roughly 15,000 French and U.N. soldiers and sought defense support from Russian mercenaries.
