This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/06/french-special-forces-rescue-hostage-mali

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
French special forces rescue hostage held in Mali since 2011 French special forces rescue hostage held in Mali since 2011
(about 3 hours later)
French special forces have freed a Dutchman held hostage since being kidnapped in 2011 by extremists in Mali, the government said. There was no immediate word on the fate of two men abducted at the same time. French special forces have rescued a Dutch hostage in Mali after discovering him by surprise during a dawn-raid against suspected al-Qaida-linked jihadists.
The military said the rescue of Sjaak Rijke took place at 5am on Monday in far northern Mali. French president François Hollande said some militants were killed and others captured. Monday’s statement did not identify who was holding Rijke, but the Dutchman appeared in a video posted in November by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. Sjaak Rijke, a 54-year-old Dutch train conductor, had been kidnapped from a hotel in Timbuktu in northern Mali in November 2011 while on a dream holiday with his wife. He had been held hostage for three and a half years.
The French president, François Hollande, said French commandos had stumbled upon Rijke by chance. “It was a surprise for us – for our forces – to be able to free this hostage because we did not have information on the presence of this hostage.”
He said Rijke had been transported to a temporary base in Tessalit in north-east Mali and that a number of suspected jihadists had been killed in the raid.
Related: Mali conflict: south is south, north is north, never the twain shall meet? | Katarina HöijeRelated: Mali conflict: south is south, north is north, never the twain shall meet? | Katarina Höije
Some 3,000 French forces are taking part in the mission to stabilize Mali, which was overrun by al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists until French troops came to the aid of Malian soldiers in January 2013. Hollande said the special forces had planned the operation against the extremists without knowing Rijke was among them. Rijke and his wife had been described in the Dutch media as seasoned travellers who were on a “dream trip” to cross the Sahara in 2011 when gunmen stormed their hotel in Timbuktu. Rijke’s wife escaped the attackers. A South African and a Swedish man were captured alongside Rijke and are still being held.
Rijke was abducted by extremists in November 2011 from a hostel in Timbuktu along with Johan Gustafsson of Sweden and South African Stephen Malcolm, who holds dual British citizenship. A German died in the attack. Officials in France and the Netherlands did not say whether there was any news of Gustafsson or Malcolm. In November 2014, the North African al Qaida-affiliated group, AQIM, released a video of Rijke making a statement on the 1,000th day of his captivity.
France said Rijke was safely evacuated to a French operating base in Tassalit. Also seen on the video was Frenchman Serge Lazarevic, who had been held captive in the Sahara for three years, and was released the following month in exchange for four Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida in north Africa.
Hostage-taking has proved to be a lucrative business in Mali, other Sahel countries and further afield in the war zone of Syria and Iraq. After the French raid freed Rijke, the Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders he was “doing well considering the circumstances”.
Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders said Rijke is being cared for by Dutch embassy staff and troops in Mali, and is doing well under the circumstances. He said: “It is extraordinary news for Sjaak and his family. I am happy and grateful that this horrible period of uncertainty and distress is over.”
“This is fantastic news for Sjaak and his family. I’m happy and relieved that this terrible period of uncertainty and sadness has been brought to an end,” Koenders said. Timo Huges, the head of the Dutch railway company, said he was “very relieved that Rijke was once again a free man”, adding: “I hope he comes back to the Netherlands soon.”
In his home town, Woerden, residents flew the Dutch flag to mark his release.
France led a military intervention against al-Qaida-linked militants in its former colony of Mali in January 2013. It has since created Operation Barkhane, a 3,000-strong military force to track down Islamist militants across a band of the Sahara desert stretching across five countries from Chad in the east to Mauritania in the west.
But Mali’s vast desert north is riven by ethnic rivalries and an Islamist insurgency and extremist fighters remain active throughout the restive north-east.
Hollande said “the battle against terrorism in Mali is not over. We still have 3,000 men in the region – not only in Mali – to carry out the battle against terrorism.”
France announced last month that it would further boost its military presence in the Sahel to also support the fight against Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamists.