A South African paramedic, Gerco van Deventer, who had been held hostage by militants linked to al-Qaeda in Libya for more than six years, has been released, according to a statement by the charity Gift of the Givers. The organization facilitated the “unconditional” release of Van Deventer, describing him as the longest-held South African hostage.
The paramedic was initially seized by an unidentified group in Libya in 2017, later sold to militant Islamists in Mali, and eventually released in Algeria, according to the charity. A Malian security source confirmed his freedom, noting that Van Deventer, 48, was released on the border between Mali and Algeria.
Libya has experienced significant lawlessness since the overthrow and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, while Mali grapples with an Islamist insurgency and separatist forces in the north.
Gift of the Givers stated that Algeria’s security agencies have taken Van Deventer to a hospital for a check-up following his release. The charity expressed relief and anticipation for his return home to reunite with his family after six years of captivity.
The paramedic, who was working for a security company, was abducted on November 3, 2017, while en route to a power plant construction site about 1,000km south of Libya’s capital, Tripoli. Three Turkish engineers abducted with him were freed approximately seven months later, but Van Deventer remained in captivity.
The charity disclosed that the al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin had initially demanded a ransom of $3 million in 2018. Gift of the Givers negotiated the amount down to $500,000, but the family and employer were unable to afford it. Ultimately, the militants released Van Deventer “unconditionally” on Saturday.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other extremist groups in North and West Africa often resort to kidnapping for ransom as a means of fundraising. AQIM, rooted in Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s, operates across the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso.
France had previously sent troops to Mali in 2013 to combat AQIM and its allies, and in 2020, French forces killed AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel. However, France withdrew its troops last year following a coup in Mali, and the Wagner group, a notorious Russian mercenary organization, has since been enlisted by Mali’s military junta to confront the militants.