BAMAKO, Mali — A coalition of rebel groups in Mali announced on Tuesday that they have successfully released a Spanish citizen who had been kidnapped in southern Algeria the previous week. The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), comprising various separatist armed factions in northern Mali, shared the news on social media, indicating that the hostage, Gilbert Navarro, is now in good health.

Mohamed Maouloud Ramaadan, a spokesperson for the FLA, confirmed the release, stating, “The former Spanish hostage, Mr. Navarro Giane Gilbert, has been freed by the FLA and is doing well.” Boubacar Sadigh Ould Taleb, the organization’s communications representative, detailed that Navarro’s abduction occurred on January 17 at the hands of a “transnational mafia,” although he did not specify which group was involved.

According to Taleb, FLA combatants managed to locate the location of Navarro and his captors near Indelimane, situated over 200 miles south of the Algerian border in Mali’s eastern Menaka region. The armed fighters encircled the kidnappers and successfully negotiated the release of the Spanish national on Monday. “The former hostage will soon be transferred to Algerian authorities to be reunited with his family,” he stated.

Last week, Spain’s Foreign Ministry had revealed that a Spanish citizen was kidnapped in an unspecified northern African nation. Reports from Spanish media indicated that Navarro was abducted in southern Algeria and subsequently moved into Mali by the Islamic State group operating in the Greater Sahara. However, the Foreign Ministry did not corroborate these reports, nor did it disclose the specific location of the kidnapping.

On Algerian television Tuesday evening, a special broadcast showed Navarro being escorted onto an Algerian military aircraft while landing at a military airport located west of Al