Mali prisoner swap ‘to see politician, French aid worker freed’

Mali has released more than 100 alleged or convicted fighters in an attempt to secure the release of a kidnapped prominent politician and French charity worker, according to media reports. The reports on Monday came weeks after a new transitional government headed by former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw was sworn in following an August military coup that overthrew embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. “As part of the negotiations to obtain the release of Soumaila Cisse and Sophie Petronin, more than 100 jihadist prisoners were released this weekend,” one of the negotiating team’s members was quoted as saying by AFP news agency, referring to the politician and aid worker. Cisse, a three-times presidential candidate, was abducted in March as he campaigned in his home region of Niafounke before parliamentary polls. Petronin, who ran a charity for malnourished and orphaned children, was seized in 2016 in the northern city of Gao. An official with at the country’s security directorate confirmed the information, telling AFP the prisoners were transported by air to the regions of Niono and Tessalit in central and Northern Mali, respectively. A legislator in Tessalit speaking on the condition of anonymity told AFP that “large numbers of jihadist prisoners” had arrived in his region on Sunday. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">