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Wednesday 10 Dec 2014 - 13:07 Makkah mean time-18-2-1436  Paris (IINA) – French President Francois Hollande announced that the last French hostage was freed after being held by extremist groups for nearly three years, Reuters reported.
Serge Lazarevic was kidnapped in Mali in November 2011 along with fellow Frenchman Philippe Verdon, who was killed by militants belonging to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group last year.
TV footage showed Lazarevic, who is now in Niger, smiling as he told reporters that he had lost about 20kg during his ordeal.
"I would like to thank the people of Niger who have collaborated with France to get me freed," he said, adding that he felt "fine".
President Hollande said there were no more French hostages waiting to be freed anywhere in the world.
He also thanked the authorities in Niger and Mali, who had "worked towards this happy outcome".
There have been no details about how the release of Lazarevic was secured, whereas the French government has repeatedly denied paying ransoms for the release of hostages.
AB/IINA
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