A Spanish national who was abducted in southern Algeria last week has expressed gratitude to those who facilitated his release.
Gilbert Navarro during arrived in Algiers after being transferred to Spanish officials on Wednesday, appearing in good health a press conference at Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“I am still in shock and will need a few days to regain my sense of calm and peace, which is essential for me,” he stated. “I appreciate everyone’s support. I have felt incredibly welcomed and loved, which truly touches my heart.”
The details surrounding Navarro’s abduction remain unclear, but Spain’s foreign ministry reported last week that one of its citizens had been taken hostage in an undisclosed North African nation.
Spanish media indicated that Navarro was seized in southern Algeria and subsequently transported to Mali by the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara region.
On Tuesday, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a coalition of separatist groups in Mali, announced that they had successfully negotiated his release from captors who intended to sell him to the Islamic State group.
Boubacar Sadigh Ould Taleb, the FLA’s communications officer, mentioned that Navarro was kidnapped on January 17 by a “transnational mafia,” although he did not specify the group involved.
He noted that FLA members located Navarro and his captors near the Malian town of Indelimane, situated over 322 kilometers south of the Algerian border.
After surrounding the kidnappers, the rebel fighters managed to negotiate the release of the Spanish national on Monday, according to Taleb.
Algeria’s defense ministry characterized Navarro as a tourist who was abducted by five members of an unidentified armed group.
Kidnappings in Algeria have been infrequent in recent years; however, the country is experiencing instability along its borders with Niger and Mali. These two nations, along with Burkina Faso, are situated in the Sahel region, which the Global Terrorism Index has recently identified as the new focal point of global terrorism.
