French Journalist Recounts 711 Days in Captivity by Extremists in Mali
French journalist Olivier Dubois managed to secure a rare interview with one of the leaders of the extremist group Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel region. For a foreign correspondent in Mali, the assignment seemed like a dream—an opportunity to enter the stronghold of extremists in Africa. However, the reality turned out differently.
On his way to conduct the interview in the northern Malian city of Gao in April 2021, Dubois—who worked for Libération and Jeune Afrique—was kidnapped.
He spent 711 days in captivity in the desert, sleeping chained to a tree, surviving on dried goat meat, and plotting his escape. Nearly two years after his release, he recounts his ordeal in a book published Thursday in France, largely based on notes he secretly kept during his captivity, written on scraps of paper he later managed to retrieve.
Speaking to the Associated Press in his first interview with English-language media since his release, Dubois said: “One of the main factors that helped me resist and survive was convincing myself that I was a journalist.”
He added that while he was not aware of all the details, he remembered the rebels telling him that ransom amounts varied by nationality. They informed him that as a French citizen, his ransom was set at 10 million euros, whereas for a South African citizen, it was 50 million euros.
Having covered multiple hostage situations in the region, Dubois knew that even if he were freed, his ordeal might not end quickly. It is worth noting that Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have been facing an insurgency led by jihadist groups—including affiliates of Al-Qaeda and ISIS—for more than a decade.
