French and US captives released by jihadists

An American aid worker and a French journalist kidnapped by jihadists in the Sahel and held for years have been released.

Jeffery Woodke (pictured, right) and freelancer Olivier Dubois (left) emerged from a plane that landed yesterday at an airport in Niamey, capital of Niger. Woodke, 61, was abducted at gunpoint in Niger in 2016, while Dubois, 48, was kidnapped in Mali in 2021.

Woodke was a missionary and humanitarian aid worker in Niger for 32 years, according to a supporters’ website. Dubois has contributed to Libération and Le Point.