The three Italian citizens - Rocco Antonio Langone, Maria Donata Caivano and their son Giovanni - who were kidnapped on 19 May 2022 in their home on the outskirts of the city of Koutiala, south-east of Bamako, arrived today at Ciampino military airport , capital of Mali, where they had lived for several years.
The family was welcomed by the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Antonio Tajani.
The liberation and repatriation operation of the Langone family was made possible by the joint work of the Farnesina Crisis Unit and the External Information and Security Agency (Aise).
The three "are in good health, they met their families and I spoke to them too, I am very happy", said Tajani after welcoming them at Ciampino.
The minister wanted to "thank the crisis unit of the Farnesina and the intelligence for all the work that was done to bring them home", and underlined that it was done
"everything in silence, with great collaboration and great seriousness of the family".
Father Maccalli, 'Great joy'
Father Pierluigi Maccalli, who spent two years in the hands of terrorists in Africa, expressed "great joy for the liberation of the Italian family kidnapped in Mali on 19 May 2022".
According to the religious man, the members of the Langone family "are all well" and "their other son, Daniele, is waiting for them in Rome at the Farnesina".
This was reported by Agenzia Fides.
The Langones lived on the outskirts of the city of Koutiala, the same one in which Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez, the Colombian missionary of the congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, was kidnapped on 7 February 2017 and released on 9 October 2021.
Meloni's satisfaction
"I want to express my heartfelt congratulations for the release of our three compatriots kidnapped in 2022 in Mali: Rocco Langone, his wife Maria
Donata Caivano and their son Giovanni. And to thank the Aise for the extraordinary work which, in concert with the ministry of Foreign Affairs, has allowed this difficult result".
So in a note from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
On the other hand, Palazzo Chigi explained in a statement that the kidnapping of the three Italians "had taken place by a jihadist faction attributable to the
JNIM, Support Group for Islam and Muslims, aligned with al-Qa'ida, active in a large part of West Africa. The Langone family had been living in Koutiala for several years, within a fully integrated community of Jehovah's Witnesses. The family's release was made possible thanks to the intense activity initiated by AISE , in concert with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, since the immediacy of the seizure, and in
particular thanks to the Agency's contacts with tribal personalities and with local intelligence services"
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