BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A rebel alliance in Mali said Tuesday it has freed a Spanish man who was kidnapped in southern Algeria last week. The Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a coalition of separatist armed groups in Mali’s predominately Tuareg north, said on X that it freed Spanish citizen Gilbert Navarro.

A Spanish man kidnapped by an armed group in the turbulent Algeria-Mali border area thanked the Algerian authorities on Wednesday after his rescue. Identified as Joaquin Navarro, the Spaniard had been on a trip last week when he was kidnapped "by an armed group made up of five people",

Algiers Province, Algeria - January 22, 2025 The Spaniard Joaquín Navarro, kidnapped in Algeria on 14 January and released on Tuesday 21 January, said on Wednesday in Algiers that he is still in a ‘state of shock’ because of the ‘complicated’ moment he has gone through and asked for a few days to be able to recover a state of calm and tranquillity’.

Navarro was abducted last week while traveling in the area, known for ongoing instability and militant activity. His safe return was confirmed on Tuesday when Algerian national television aired footage of his arrival at a military airport near Algiers.