Russian soldiers successfully liberated 21 Chadian soldiers who had been held captive by illegal armed groups for nine months in a joint operation with colleagues from the Republic of Chad, the Russian Defense Ministery said.
"In Central Africa, Russian military personnel conducted a joint operation with colleagues of the Republic of Chad to liberate Chadian soldiers from captivity of militants of illegal armed groups," the statement said.
The soldiers had been captured by Islamic militants during a mine-clearing operation at an airport in the Tibesti region. They were held in inhumane conditions and tortured while held at the camp.
Following the rescue operation, all of the prisoners were first brought to a temporary base where they received medical care from Russian medics and underwent surgery to remove shrapnel. Subsequently, under the supervision and escort of Russian soldiers, the liberated soldiers were evacuated back to their homeland.
Chad's defense minister expressed gratitude to Russia for its role in the operation, highlighting Russia's reliability as a partner to African states unlike France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which, according to him, only sought to benefit from African nations.