BAMAKO, Mali (AP) – Soumaila Cissé, Mali’s main opposition leader who was held hostage for six months earlier this year by jihadists and was considered the main candidate in the Mali’s presidential election. 2022, he died in Paris. He was 71 years old.
Cissé died after hiring COVID-19, his eldest son Bocar told The Associated Press on Friday.
“The doctors went out of their way to keep him alive, but this is the way of God’s will,” he said.
Death throws Malian politics into new uncertainty. Cissé was the runner-up in the last three presidential elections and many thought he had the best chance of finally winning in 2022.
He was taken hostage by al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in March while campaigning for legislative elections in his hometown of Niafunke in northern Mali. Amid public pressure, the Malian government obtained his release in October, along with that of the French and Italian hostages, in exchange for the release of nearly 200 jihadists from Malian prisons.
It was not known if a ransom had been paid, although extremist groups have long financed their operations with these payments from European governments.
In an interview after his release, Cissé told TV5 Monde that his captors were transporting the hostages by motorbike, boat and even camel. He said he was detained in more than 20 different places. Although he said he was not physically or verbally abused, he described extremely difficult conditions in the desert and said he lacked the medication he needed.
Cisse said he was able to listen to the radio and was outraged by the news of the August military coup that toppled the democratically elected president in Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Mali’s interim leader Sem Ba N’Daw on Friday expressed his condolences to Cissé’s family and supporters, saying millions of Malians “are in shock” at the news. Describing a meeting with Cissé after his release, he said “optimism has remained intact” and said “the country still needed his experience and wisdom to meet current challenges.”
In his latest post on Facebook, Christmas Eve, Cissé wished “an excellent holiday of joy and health” to Christians in his country and around the world, at a time when Mali is facing multiple crisis, including the coronavirus pandemic.
No immediate funeral plans were announced.
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Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.