Twenty-two Malian soldiers held captive by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) were freed on Sunday, August 23, in the Anéfis sector of northern Mali following a prisoner exchange.
The operation brings the total number of Malian military personnel released by the armed group since August 13 to 110. Security and local sources confirmed that while some of the 22 soldiers had been captured during recent clashes, others had been in captivity for more than three years.
In exchange for the soldiers, Malian authorities released at least eight individuals linked to the FLA, though media reports vary on whether eight or nine detainees were set free. Conflicting accounts remain regarding the identities of those released by Bamako; while certain sources identified them as FLA fighters, a spokesperson for the movement maintained that they were primarily civilians held for several years. Neither the Malian government nor the army general staff issued an official clarification regarding their identities.
Sunday’s exchange marks the third such operation within a ten-day span, following an initial release on August 13 that freed 82 Malian soldiers captured in various engagements between 2023 and 2026. On August 16, six additional wounded soldiers were transferred from Kidal to Gao with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which acted as a neutral intermediary. Although these successive swaps do not signal a formal political agreement between Bamako and the FLA, they highlight established operational communication channels for negotiating ad hoc detainee arrangements amid ongoing clashes across northern Mali.
MD/te/Sf/lb/abj/APA