22 Mali soldiers freed by Tuareg rebels, sources say

Tuareg separatist rebels freed 22 Mali government soldiers on Sunday, a security source told AFP, in the latest of several prisoner releases linked to fighting in the country.

A source close to Mali's ruling junta confirmed that about 20 soldiers were involved. The Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front said in a social media post that troops had been freed, but did not give a number.

Some of the freed government troops had been captured recently and others had been held for more than three years, the junta source told AFP.

A security source said at least eight FLA fighters were freed in exchange for the troops. FLA spokesman Attaye Ag Mohamed said civilian detainees held in junta prisons, some for more than five years, were freed under the deal. Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadane told AFP that eight civilians were released in exchange for the soldiers.

The release follows other recent handovers. Mali's army said on August 13 that 82 soldiers held by Tuareg fighters since April battles had been freed. Three days later, six wounded troops were handed over.

AFP reported on Saturday, citing security and diplomatic sources, that two former Russian Wagner paramilitaries captured two years ago in northern Mali had also been released. Africa Corps, the Russian paramilitary organisation that has since replaced Wagner, confirmed the release of Russian nationals detained since July 27, 2024, by what it called a terrorist coalition of the FLA and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims.

Tuareg fighters and jihadist allies took dozens of soldiers prisoner during coordinated attacks in April and July. Those attacks also killed General Sadio Camara, Mali's defence minister, according to AFP's account.

Mali has faced jihadist and separatist insurgencies for more than a decade. The military seized power after coups in 2020 and 2021, saying the overthrow of civilian rule was justified by the need to end the violence.