BAMAKO, Aug. 13– Eighty-two Malian soldiers who had been held hostage by armed groups since April 25 were released on Thursday, the Malian army said in a statement.
According to the statement, the soldiers had been held by armed groups affiliated with a coalition comprising the al-Qaida-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Azawad Liberation Front.
The released soldiers are now safe and receiving care from the relevant authorities, the army said. The army said their release was the result of a process launched immediately after their capture, but provided no details on where they had been held or the circumstances or terms of their release.
Mali has faced a volatile security situation for years, with armed groups frequently carrying out attacks, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country.
In April, Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed when armed terrorist groups attacked his residence in Kati, a town near the capital Bamako. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
