Tuareg rebels release Mali soldiers in prisoner swap

Tuareg separatists released around 60 Malian soldiers in exchange for one of their own leaders detained in neighbouring Niger, security sources said on Friday.

The Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) freed the soldiers in return for its officer Inkinane Ag Attaher, who was arrested in Niger in 2025, said the sources, who asked not to be named.

"Around 60 soldiers were transported yesterday to Niger to be exchanged for Inkinane Ag Attaher and individuals allegedly linked to JNIM", a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, a Malian security source told AFP.

The agreement was directly overseen by Niger's government, a second security source said.

FLA spokesman Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadane welcomed the release of Ag Attaher, in a post on Facebook, sending him "wishes of courage, strength and serenity for the continuation of the struggle".

Niger officials issued no official statement on the exchange, the latest in a recent series of releases of prisoners taken in northern Mali.

JNIM jihadists and FLA rebels launched a series of attacks in recent months against strategic positions held by Mali's ruling junta.