Swede man held captive in Mali since 2011 freed

Johan Gustafsson, a 42-year-old Swede man kidnapped by an Al Qaeda linked group in Mali since 2011, has been released, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Johan Gustafsson has been released and can return to Sweden," Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Johan's situation has touched many of us, and extensive efforts have been made to secure his release," she said.

It was during a motorcycle vacation through Africa when Gustafsson was kidnapped in the city of Timbuktu by the terrorist group. Since then, he has been a prisoner of the group.

 

--IANS

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