Journalist Olivier Dubois landed in France on March 21, 2023 at Villacoublay air base, the day after the announcement of his release after almost 2 years of captivity in Mali. The Frenchman is welcomed there in particular by his relatives and by the Head of State Emmanuel Macron.
The French journalist, kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao, was released after almost two years of detention. His release was announced on March 20, 2023 in Niamey. He was presented there at the same time as the American Jeffery Woodke, who was a hostage for more than six years in the Sahel.
Olivier Dubois was in the hands of Jnim, the support group for Islam and Muslims, linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi). Since his abduction, he had appeared in two videos released by his captors, in May 2021, then in March 2022.
He had been abducted while on assignment in Gao. He had gone there to interview a local Jnim leader, Abdallah Ag Albakaye, in the Talataye area. It was when he was making arrangements to go to this interview that men abducted him.