Father Maccalli and Chiacchio: “We were in the hands of three jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda”



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ROME – “We were managed by three groups. The entire jihadist galaxy linked to Al Qaeda. The first was that of the Fulani herdsmen, the second included kidnappers of Arab origin and the third was made up of Tuareg ”.

According to the two hostages freed in Mali and returned to Italy in the last hours, Father Pier Luigi Maccalli and Nicola Chiacchio, ai pm Sergio Colaioccoe Francesco Dall’Olio, coordinated by the prosecutor Michele Prestipino, in a barracks on the Ros.

Maccalli, from the Diocese of Crema, was kidnapped in September 2018. The priest was allegedly sold to the kidnappers by a person with whom he had contact in the Bomoanga mission, about 150 kilometers from the Nigerian capital, Niamey. The contact allegedly warned the kidnappers saying that “the white man had returned.” “They arrived with six motorcycles,” said the priest, who explained: “They picked me up and took me away.”


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Italian priest kidnapped in Niger, committed against infibulation

Nicola Chiacchio had disappeared in Mali a few years ago, while in the region, probably for tourism. The two told the magistrates other details: “We were subjected to long trips on motorcycles and boats that lasted days, also crossing Burkina Faso to reach Mali. We were together from March 2019 until liberation.

“We did not receive death threats but the worst moment was when Luca Tacchetti fled”, the Padua who returned free last March, “they kept us chained to trees for a few days but then the situation calmed down.”

“They almost always treated us well, to the point that on May 20, on the occasion of my birthday, they gave us a radio, thanks to which we were able to receive news about the spread of the coronavirus in Europe,” said Father Maccalli.

The two Italian hostages freed yesterday in Mali returned to Italy aboard a military plane that landed in Ciampino. The prime minister was waiting for them Giuseppe Conte and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi di maio. The press was not allowed access to the airport for health security reasons.


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Mali, Father Maccalli and Nicola Chiacchio freed together with a French and a Malian

“With Maccalli and Chiacchio, in just over a year we have freed and brought home seven Italian hostages who were in the hands of terrorists or criminal organizations. We continue to work day and night and in these hours we are concentrating our efforts for our compatriots in Libya We have activated all the international channels and we are working silently and with the confidence that is required in these situations to achieve the best result. We are in constant contact with the families of the fishermen. Chancellor Luigi Di Maio wrote it on Facebook publishing the photo of the return of the two Italians.

Father Maccalli and Chiacchio:

A few hours later, the 75-year-old French aid worker, who had been a prisoner of the jihadists for 4 years, landed in Paris. Anti Covid mask on the face and white scarf on the head, Sophie Pétronin, the last French hostage in the world freed together with Chiacchio, Father Luigi Maccalli and the Malian Soumaila Cissé, was received by relatives and the president Emmanuel macron.


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The release of the 4 hostages could in all probability be part of the Bamako government’s agreement with extremist groups, which led to the release of 100 jihadists.

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