Mali frees 100 jihadists for release of hostages

Mali has freed more than 100 alleged or convicted jihadists to secure the release of a senior politician and a French charity worker, sources said, in a rare mass release of prisoners in the west African country, which is in the grip of an eight-year-old Islamist insurgency. Soumaila Cisse, a threetime presidential candidate, was abducted on March 25 while campaigning in his home region of Niafounke. Sophie Petronin was abducted on Dec 24 2016 in Gao.