https://en.sputniknews.africa/20231218/south-africas-longest-held-hostage-is-freed-by-al-qaeda-1064177419.html
South Africa's Longest-Held Hostage is Freed by Al-Qaeda
South Africa's Longest-Held Hostage is Freed by Al-Qaeda
Sputnik Africa
Van Deventer, a South African, was an ambulance paramedic and worked for a security company when he was captured on November 3, 2017, on his way to a power... 18.12.2023, Sputnik Africa
2023-12-18T09:04+0100
2023-12-18T09:04+0100
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Gerco van Deventer, a paramedic taken as hostage in Libya in 2017 and sold to an al-Qaeda*-linked group in Mali a year later, has been released to Algeria, according to the nonprofit Gift of the Givers.The release was facilitated by an unidentified man from Mauritania, added Gift of the Givers, who worked on the rescue for five years.Five years of negotiations with the terrorists were fruitless, as neither the doctor's family nor his employer could raise the ransom, which dropped from $3 million to $500,000 during the talks, the organization noted.Algeria was chosen as van Deventer's release point because Mali was in the midst of a new round of confrontation between government forces and Tuareg rebels, while Mauritania, offered by an unknown mediator, refused to participate, Gift of the Givers explained.*Terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20231214/fighting-with-terrorists-near-nigers-border-claim-lives-of-24-malian-soldiers-reports-say-1064107386.html
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South Africa's Longest-Held Hostage is Freed by Al-Qaeda
09:04 18.12.2023 (Updated: 09:47 18.12.2023) Van Deventer, a South African, was an ambulance paramedic and worked for a security company when he was captured on November 3, 2017, on his way to a power plant construction site about 1,000 kilometers south of the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
Gerco van Deventer, a paramedic taken as hostage in Libya in 2017 and sold to an al-Qaeda*-linked group in Mali a year later, has been released to Algeria, according to the nonprofit Gift of the Givers.
"South African State Security confirmed last night that Algerian State Security called to inform them that Gerco is freed, is with them and taken to hospital for a health review. We await the next step on his health and arrangements to bring him home to be reunited with wife Shereen and son Asher," the organization said in a statement.
The
release was facilitated by an unidentified man from Mauritania, added Gift of the Givers, who worked on the rescue for five years.
Five years of negotiations with the terrorists were fruitless, as neither the doctor's family nor his employer could raise the ransom, which dropped from $3 million to $500,000 during the talks, the organization noted.
"Having no ransom to pay for Gerco and no further leverage, negotiations stalled and eventually with COVID-19 went cold completely until January 2023 when one of our intermediary contacts in Mali requested us to restart the process," the statement said.
Algeria was chosen as van Deventer's release point because
Mali was in the midst of a new round of confrontation between government forces and Tuareg rebels, while Mauritania, offered by an unknown mediator, refused to participate, Gift of the Givers explained.
*Terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.
