Mali Islamists release video of French, Colombian hostages
Trending video: #mtnshortz3sixtyworld
An al Qaeda affiliate in Mali has released a video of a French aid worker and a Colombian nun kidnapped in separate incidents in 2016 and 2017, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
The video was posted late on Wednesday by Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, which has been linked to the kidnapping of at least six Western hostages in recent years.
SITE in an email to clients that included a link to the video.
The video, included in an email from SITE showed a frail Sophie Petronin, a French aid worker who was kidnapped in Mali’s restive northeast in late 2016, being cared for in a tent-like structure by fellow captive Gloria Narvaez, who was abducted in early 2017 in southern Mali near the border with Burkina Faso.
Both women address the camera directly, one after the other. Petronin says the date is June 7.
She speaks through tears to her son and tells him she is “very, very exhausted.” Narvaez addresses Pope Francis, asking him to intervene for Petronin, who she says is “truly sick”.
French civilians have long been favoured targets for kidnapping by criminal and Islamist groups in the arid West African region, partly owing to perceptions that the French government is prepared to pay ransoms to secure their release.
In 2013, French troops drove back al Qaeda-linked groups that had seized cities and towns in northern Mali a year earlier.
Islamist militants have repeatedly declared since then that French citizens in West Africa are targets.
(Reuters/NAN)
More Stories
SANWO-OLU SUSPENDS MEDIA AIDE OVER MISREPRESENTATION OF FACTS
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Mr. Wale Ajetunmobi....
SANWO-OLU APPOINTS NEW SOLICITOR-GENERAL/PERMANENT SECRETARY
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, swore in Mr. Oyenuga Hameed Olanrewaju as the new Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary,...
OKPEBHOLO RESTORES OBA OF BENIN’S FULL STATUTORY RIGHTS
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has abolished the new traditional councils created by his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, in Edo South...
JUST IN: OKPEBHOLO SETS UP PANEL TO PROBE OBASEKI’S ADMINISTRATION
The Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has approved the formation of a 14-member State Assets Verification Committee to investigate...
VIDEO: TINUBU, FIRST LADY RETURN TO ABUJA AFTER G20 SUMMIT IN BRAZIL
President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu have successfully returned to Abuja following their participation in the 19th G20...
MINIMUM WAGE: NO GOING BACK ON DEADLINE, SAYS NLC
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said its December 1 ultimatum to state governors who fail to implement the new...