TUAREG rebels have freed about 60 Malian soldiers in exchange for one of their own leaders, a former Malian army officer turned defector named Inkinane Ag Attaher, security sources have said.
Ag Attaher was a prominent figure in the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) when he was arrested by Nigerian security forces near the Niger-Nigeria border in 2025. He was accused of orchestrating drone training, coordinating deadly attacks in Mali and acting as an international liaison.
“Around 60 soldiers were transported yesterday [Thursday] to Niger to be exchanged for Inkinane Ag Attaher and individuals allegedly linked to JNIM [Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin],” a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, a Malian security source told AFP news agency.
The agreement was directly overseen by Niger’s government, a second security source said.
Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadane, an FLA spokesman, welcomed Ag Attaher’s release in a post on Facebook, sending him “wishes of courage, strength and serenity for the continuation of the struggle”.
The development is the latest in a series of releases of prisoners taken hostage in northern Mali by al-Qaeda-linked fighters and Tuareg rebels, including Russian mercenaries. The Tuareg rebels said some of their own men held in Malian prisons were also freed.
Sources in Mali have told Al Jazeera that Algeria has been helping to mediate over the release of its soldiers.
On Monday, General Abdoulaye Maiga, Mali’s prime minister, visited Algiers in a bid to re-establish high-level talks with the Algerian government after tensions caused by disagreements over regional security.
Bamako has publicly ruled out talks with groups it calls terrorists, but the releases suggest channels of communication remain open while the fighting continues.
JNIM and the FLA claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on April 25 targeting Bamako’s airport and several other locations. That day, Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in a bombing at his residence in Kati.
The two groups also claimed responsibility for attacks on army positions across Mali on July 4.
Elisee Jean Dao, chief of the general staff of Mali’s armed forces, issued a warning to those who continue to fight against the Malian army.
“Wherever the enemy is, we will go after them and defeat them, until they lay down their weapons. For those who are Malians, our country has a peace process that allows them to come back. So I want to make that appeal again. It is not too late. The door is still open,” he said.
Al Jazeera correspondent Nicolas Haque said fighting is continuing beyond Mali’s borders and across the Sahel, but the prisoner releases and Algeria’s mediation could see more soldiers freed.
Mali has been fighting a civil war since 2012, when a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north gave way to armed campaigns by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
The military has ruled the country since a 2021 coup, pledging to restore order and unite the country.
JNIM has gained in strength since the Malian soldiers who seized power expelled French forces and some 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers, and turned to Russian paramilitaries for defence support.
While the FLA presents itself as a secular nationalist movement seeking independence for Mali’s Azawad region and JNIM is an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, the two sides have set ideological differences aside to confront the Malian government.