BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A rebel alliance in Mali said Tuesday it has freed a Spanish man who was kidnapped in southern Algeria last week. The Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a coalition of separatist armed groups in Mali’s predominately Tuareg north, said on X that it freed Spanish citizen Gilbert Navarro.

Following the withdrawal of France's Operation Barkhane, Algeria is being challenged on its southern borders by Sahelian sovereigns seeking to free themselves from its influence.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign investment and that Damascus is also working on energy and electricity partnerships with Gulf states.

Algeria’s Defense Ministry reported late Tuesday that Spanish tourist Gilbert Navarro, kidnapped earlier this month near the country’s southern border with Mali, has been safely recovered. According to the ministry, Navarro was handed over to the army’s security services and is unharmed.

LOIC VENANCE / AFP The diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, fanned by the dispute over Algerian influencers – a bilateral dispute in addition to the Western Sahara feud and the friction ...