Al-Qaeda militants release South African captive, Gerco van Deventer

A South African paramedic who had been held hostage in Libya for over six years has been freed by militant Islamists associated with al-Qaeda, according to the charity Gift of the Givers. The organization stated that it had facilitated the unconditional release of Gerco van Deventer, who was described as the longest-held South African hostage. He was initially captured by an unidentified group in Libya in 2017, sold to Islamist militants in Mali the following year, and finally released in Algeria. A security source from Mali confirmed van Deventer's liberation, while a humanitarian source reported that he was freed along the Mali border. The political landscape in Libya has been unstable since the overthrow and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, resulting in significant lawlessness. Meanwhile, Mali has been grappling with an uprising led by Islamist insurgents and separatist forces in the northern regions. Gift of the Givers, based in South Africa, announced that Algerian security agencies transported van Deventer to a hospital for a check-up after his release. The charity expressed its relief at his freedom and its eagerness to reunite him with his wife and son. Van Deventer worked as an emergency paramedic for a security company when he was captured in November 2017, while en route to a power plant construction site located approximately 1,000km (600 miles) south of Tripoli, Libya's capital. Although three Turkish engineers abducted with him were released about seven months later, van Deventer remained in captivity. The family made numerous appeals for his release, and Gift of the Givers previously participated in efforts to secure his freedom and the release of other hostages in the Sahel region. In 2018, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, an al-Qaeda affiliate, demanded a $3 million (€2.4 million) ransom, which the charity eventually negotiated down to $500,000. However, as van Deventer's family and employer were unable to pay this amount, the militants ultimately released him without any conditions on Saturday.