africatodayonline.blogspot.com -
(CNN) -French hostage Serge Lazarevic has been freed after being held for more than three years by al Qaeda in Mali, French President Francois Hollande announced Tuesday.
Lazarevic was captured on Nov. 24, 2011, in Hombori in central Mali and subsequently held in the Sahel.
He will travel to Niamey in Niger before heading on to France, Hollande said in a statement issued by his office.
"He is relatively healthy, despite the very harsh conditions of his long captivity. He will be quickly repatriated to France," the president said.
