A conservationist with dual French and Australian citizenship has been freed after he was taken hostage in Chad, interim Chadian president Mahamat Idriss Deby has announced.
Dr Jerome Hugonot, a former Australian vet who now manages an oryx park on behalf of a conservation group, was kidnapped on Friday by unknown individuals in the northeastern Wadi Fira province.
Mr Deby announced Mr Hugonot’s release on Twitter on Sunday without providing any details on how it was achieved.
“I am delighted with this happy ending,” he said.
The French foreign ministry also announced the release in a separate statement.
“France thanks the Chadian authorities that worked for this release,” the ministry said, also without giving further details.
Chad, a military-run Central African country, has been in a state of upheaval since the sudden death of President Idriss Deby, father of the current interim president, in April 2021.
Earlier this month, anti-government protesters ransacked and torched the party headquarters of Chad’s new Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo as demonstrations called for a quicker transition to democratic rule after presidential elections were pushed to October 2024.
