In Mali, a South African nurse, Gerco van Deventer, has been released after enduring more than six years of captivity.

Abducted by jihadists in Libya in November 2017 and subsequently transferred to Mali by his captors, he was freed on Friday, December 15, as reported by Malian security sources.

Currently undergoing treatment in Algiers, the 48-year-old hostage was released at the border between Mali and Algeria.

This information was corroborated by a foreign humanitarian source and aligns with details provided on December 17 by the South African organization Gift of the Givers, which facilitated the release.

Gerco van Deventer, who worked for a security company, was originally kidnapped while traveling to a power plant construction site in Libya, approximately 1,000 kilometers from Tripoli.

Following his release, he is under observation in a hospital in Algiers, with plans for further medical attention before his eventual return to South Africa, although the exact date remains unspecified.