By Oumar Sankare
BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - Two journalists from Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM who were abducted by suspected terrorists in central Mali in October have been freed, an ORTM source told Anadolu on Monday.
The journalists, Daouda Kone, director of ORTM in Douentza, and Salif Sangare, a cameraman, regained their freedom earlier on Monday, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
No details were given on the circumstances of their release or whether negotiations were involved.
ORTM and Malian authorities had not issued an official statement at the time of publication.
Kone and Sangare were kidnapped on Oct. 14 while traveling by road between Sevare and Konna in the volatile Mopti region of central Mali. Armed men stopped their vehicle and abducted the two journalists, while other passengers were reportedly released.
Although no group formally claimed responsibility, the kidnapping was widely attributed to the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM, which is active in the area.
After weeks of silence, JNIM released a proof-of-life video on Dec. 1, showing the two journalists seated side by side and speaking under apparent duress. The video, circulated online in the early evening, around 6 pm local time, included an appeal urging efforts to secure their release.
Their freedom has been welcomed by Mali’s media community, which has been repeatedly targeted by violence over the past decade.
Several journalists have been killed or remain missing amid the country’s ongoing conflict.
Hamadoun Nialibouly and Moussa M’Bana Dicko, radio journalists, were kidnapped in Mopti in 2020 and have not been publicly accounted for in recent years.
In November 2023, radio presenter Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla was killed by gunmen in northern Mali, while two of his colleagues were abducted during the same attack. Malian investigative journalist Birama Toure, who worked for the weekly Le Sphinx, has been missing since 2016, with his fate still unknown.
Mali has also witnessed high-profile cases involving foreign reporters, including the 2013 killing of Radio France Internationale journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in Kidal and the long captivity of French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was held for nearly two years before his release in 2023.
The release of Kone and Sangare brings rare relief, but the fate of other missing journalists remains unresolved.