A rebel alliance in Mali announced Tuesday that it had freed a Spanish man who was kidnapped in southern Algeria last week. The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a coalition of separatist armed groups based in Mali’s northern Tuareg region, confirmed the release of Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish citizen.
“The former Spanish hostage, Mr. Navarro Giane Gilbert, has been released by the FLA and is in good health,” said Mohamed Maouloud Ramaadan, a spokesperson for the group, in a statement posted on X.
Boubacar Sadigh Ould Taleb, the FLA’s communications officer, told The Associated Press that Navarro was abducted on January 17 by a “transnational mafia,” though he did not specify the group responsible.
Taleb explained that FLA fighters located Navarro and his captors near Indelimane, a town in Mali’s eastern Menaka region, over 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the Algerian border. After surrounding the kidnappers, the FLA successfully negotiated Navarro’s release on Monday.
Taleb added that the freed hostage would be handed over to Algerian authorities soon to reunite with his family.
