German humanitarian Jörg Lange, 63, has been freed after four-and-a-half years as a hostage in the Sahel, his NGO Help said on Saturday. “We are very relieved and grateful that our colleague Jörg Lange can return to his family after more than four and a half years.Bianca Kaltschmidt, executive director of Help, wrote in a statement.
LONG “warmly thanks all the people who contributed to or supported this release, in particular the crisis unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the criminal police, as well as the authorities and friends of Mali, Niger and neighboring countries.“.
According to a German weekly Der Spiegel, it is thanks to the Moroccan secret services and their contacts with jihadist groups in the Sahel that this release can happen. Jörg Lange would be flown back to Germany on an army plane, he adds Der Spiegel. When asked by AFP, the German government refused to comment.
Four Western hostages are still being held in Sahel
Jörg Lange was abducted on April 11, 2018, by gunmen on motorcycles in western Niger near Ayoru, a border region with Mali that has been plagued by periodic jihadist attacks. His Nigerian driver was released shortly after.
According to German media, Jörg Lange was sold to a jihadist group after being kidnapped.The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara(EIGS).
At least four Western hostages are still being held in the Sahel, according to the count, which only includes cases released by their entourage or their government; Frenchman Olivier Dubois, kidnapped on May 5, 2021, American Jeffery Woodk (October 14, 2016), Australian Arthur Kenneth Elliott (January 15, 2016) and Romanian Iulian Gergut (April 4, 2015).
Another German father, Hans-Joachim Lohre, who has not been heard from since late November, is widely believed to have been abducted, although no claims have been made.
Source: Le Figaro
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