Bamako=--A Dutch hostage freed after being held by Al-Qaeda-linked extremists in Mali for more than three years arrived in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, shouting "freedom!" as he exited his plane.
Train driver Sjaak Rijke, abducted while on holiday in Timbuktu in November 2011, was set free in a raid on Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb by French special forces on Monday.
He shouted "freedom!" as he emerged in jeans, a shirt and a cap, sporting a thick beard, from the plane that had flown him from Gao in northern Mali.
He was greeted by Malian Security Minister Sada Samake and Dutch and French diplomats, before heading in a convoy to meet President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, according to the presidency.
Members of his family were also at the airport to welcome him, a Dutch diplomatic source told AFP.
The source was unable to specify which relatives had made the trip, but Dutch media said his wife, Tilly Kettner, had left the Netherlands for Bamako on Monday to be reunited with her husband.
Dutch media said Rijke was due to return to the Netherlands on Tuesday evening, although the ministry would not officially confirm this.
French President Francois Hollande said on Monday Rijke had been transported to a safe location and that a number of suspected jihadists were killed during the operation.
He said the French soldiers were not aware of the hostage's location before the raid against the extremists near Tessalit in Mali's far north, close to the border with Algeria.
The president's account appeared to be contradicted by senior French general Gregoire de Saint-Quentin, the head of special operations, who described a meticulously planned raid involving 20 elite soldiers.
AFP
