In May 2022, a group of individuals in Mali kidnapped an elderly Italian couple and their son. However, the Italian government claims that they have been released.
All three were in good spirits and were slated to head back to Rome in the near future.
The family were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they were planning to start a church when they were taken from their home near the town of Koutiala.
Their helper from Togo was taken with them.
Italy’s government helped Rocco Langone, Maria Donata Caivano, and their son, Giovanni Langone to get released from custody in Mali. They did this by using their connections with community leaders and Mali’s intelligence agencies.
The statement didn’t say anything else about how they were released.
The family lived in an area where there were a lot of terrorists, and the kidnappings were done by a group connected to al-Qaeda.
The couple are said to be in their 60s and their son is in his 40s.
Mali has had a big problem with violence for more than ten years. Sometimes,groups of fighters capture people from other countries and ask for money or the release of their friends in exchange for letting them go.
The military took control by force in 2021because they said the government wasn’t doing enough to stop the rebellion.
The country kicked out French troops and UN peacekeepers and asked Russia’s Wagner group for help in fighting the jihadists, but the fighting is not stopping.