A Swedish man who had been held hostage for five and a half years by Al-Qaeda in Mali has been freed. The Swedish government put out a statement confirming Johan Gustafsson's release on Monday. "It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Johan Gustafsson has been released and can return to Sweden," Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement that gave no details about how his release was secured. However, while Mr Gustafsson is now back with his family, the fate of a fellow hostage from South Africa remains unknown.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 26, 2017 13:46 UTC