French commandos free Dutch hostage, as shootout with jihadists ends 3 year ordeal

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French commandos free Dutch hostage, as shootout with jihadists ends three-year ordeal

Dutch train driver reunited with his wife three years after he was kidnapped by jihadis linked to al-Qaeda while on holiday in Mali

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 April, 2015, 10:54am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 2:17am

Agence France-Presse in Paris

Sjaak Rijke (center) is helped out of a French military helicopter after his rescue in northern Mali on Monday. Photo: AFP

Dutch train driver Sjaak Rijke went to Timbuktu for what was supposed to have been a "dream trip" with his wife in November 2011. But when Islamic militant gunmen burst into their hotel, it was the beginning of a three-year nightmare for Rijke, kidnapped and held for ransom in Mali. His wife evaded capture.

Now the couple will finally be reunited, after Rijke was liberated in similarly dramatic fashion on Monday. French special forces freed the Dutchman from his al-Qaeda-linked captors after staging a dramatic desert raid that culminated in a gun battle with the militants.



"This combat action has also led to the capture of several individuals," said France's defence ministry, referring to the raid against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). French President Francois Hollande said the freed hostage had been transported to a safe location and that a number of suspected jihadists were killed during the operation.

He said the French soldiers were not aware of the hostage's location before the raid against the extremists near Tessalit in Mali's far north, close to the border with Algeria.

"It was a surprise for us, for our forces, to be able to free this hostage because we did not have information" about his presence, Hollande said, without providing further details.

But the president's account appeared to be contradicted by senior French general Gregoire de Saint-Quentin, the head of special operations, who described a meticulously planned raid involving 20 elite soldiers.

"The hostage was held in a place far from anywhere in a desert zone," he said.

Troops snuck into the area under the cover of darkness but were spotted by the kidnappers just metres away from the site.

"The guards opened fire on us. We responded and the hostage was freed," Saint-Quentin said, adding that the operation was over "in a few seconds with two kidnappers killed and two others surrendering".

A video shot after his release showed a relaxed Rijke smiling as he shared a meal with French soldiers, unlike the gaunt bearded figure in a November 2014 video released by his kidnappers on the 1,000th day of his captivity.

Sjaak Rijke shares a meal with his rescuers on Monday in this image released by the French military. Photo: AFP

Dutch media said his wife had left the Netherlands for the Malian capital Bamako.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders confirmed that Rijke was "doing well considering the circumstances".

"It is extraordinary news for Sjaak and his family," Koenders said. "I am happy and grateful that this horrible period of uncertainty and distress is over."

When gunmen had stormed into Rijke's hotel in 2011, they captured him as well as a South African and a Swede, both of whom are still being held.

Rijke, who was 51 when he was kidnapped, and his wife were described in the Dutch media as seasoned travellers on a "dream trip" to the Sahara.

Also seen in the November 2014 video was French hostage Serge Lazarevic, who was later freed in a prisoner swap.

Mali's vast desert north is riven by ethnic rivalries and an Islamist insurgency. Jihadists linked to al-Qaeda controlled Mali's north for more than nine months in 2012 until they were routed by a French-led military intervention, but extremist fighters remain active throughout the restive northeast.

Mali is also struggling with ethnic Tuareg militants fighting the army over northern territory they claim as their homeland and call Azawad.

Hollande said "the battle against terrorism in Mali is not over. We still have 3,000 men in the region, not only in Mali."

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US government may develop new 'fusion cell' to oversee response to hostage situations

The Obama administration is considering the creation of a "fusion cell" of US law enforcement, intelligence and other officials to better coordinate its response to hostage situations.

Its mission would be to focus exclusively on developing strategies to recover American captives being held overseas.

The proposal is described in a letter sent to the families of American hostages and is one of several ideas the administration is considering as it gets closer to concluding its review of hostage policies. That review was launched in December amid frustration at the government's response from families of American hostages, some of whom were held and later killed by the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

Under another proposal, according to the letter, a senior-level policy group, chaired by the National Security Council staff, would review hostage policies and recovery strategies proposed by the fusion cell. That group would report to cabinet officials and the president.

The letter does not address the US ban on paying ransoms to terrorist groups — a policy that has drawn criticism from families and others, particularly in light of other countries' willingness to pay for the release of their citizens.

At the same time, US officials have expressed an interest in finding ways to better communicate with families about efforts to recover their loved ones. The letter says the administration is considering establishing a "family engagement team" to ensure families have continuous, direct access to officials who can provide "timely information and other necessary support during and after a hostage crisis".

The Washington Post