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The Swiss woman, kidnapped by jihadists in Mali in 2016, was killed a month ago. This was explained by a French woman who released the same hijackers last week.
Fighters of the Al-Qaeda branch in Mali in the open street in Timbuktu.
A Swiss missionary who was kidnapped four years ago in Mali is dead, apparently killed by her jihadist kidnappers a month ago. This was reported to the authorities by the French Sophie Pétronin, who was released last week with other hostages. She had been kidnapped by the same group as the Swiss: the Islam and Muslims support group, which is considered the Malian branch of Qaeda.
He returned to Timbuktu after the first kidnapping.
The 59-year-old Basel woman had worked for years as a missionary in Timbuktu, in northern Mali. She had already been abducted once in 2012, but was released nine days later with the help of the Burkina Faso government, apparently on the condition that she leave Mali. However, she returned to Timbuktu the following year and was abducted again in 2016. In 2018, the jihadists released a video showing the Swiss woman wearing a black hijab. In the recording, he explained in slow French that he had tried to convert Muslims to Christianity. In the radical form of Islam, as propagated by jihadists, the death penalty is based on apostasy from the Islamic faith. Those who proselytize are not only putting their own lives at risk, but also the lives of converts.
It is not entirely clear why the Swiss woman did not benefit from last week’s release and was secretly killed. These killings are generally exploited by jihadists for propaganda purposes as a warning of “executions”. Sophie Pétronin, 75, was also abducted in 2016, in the northern city of Gao, where she had been babysitting for years. The kidnappers also posted a video of her in 2018 and said her health was deteriorating. Apparently, he converted to Islam during his abduction. In a statement, he said he tried to use the time of his abduction as a “spiritual retreat.” He said he wanted to go back to Gao. An Italian priest was also released last week, as well as a younger Italian who had been cycling in northern Mali. However, the most prominent kidnapping victim was Soumaila Cissé, a former opposition leader in the Malian parliament. He was abducted during a campaign tour on March 25 in the northwestern city of Niafounké.
Pressure to release the opposition politician
The hostages were reportedly released in exchange for the release of more than a hundred captured jihadists. Cissé’s release was one of the main concerns of the protest movement that has rocked Mali for months. Many Malians felt that President Keita was doing very little to remove Cissé, or that he was even welcome to eliminate his opponent. On August 18, following the ongoing demonstrations, the military overthrew the unpopular Keita and on October 5 a transitional government was installed. Undoubtedly, the new rulers will present the liberation of Cissé as a political success, even if the price, the liberation of the jihadists, is high. Presumably, unofficial ransom money was paid in connection with the French and Italian hostages.
After the coup, both the West African Economic Community (Cédéao / Ecowas) and the African Union (AU) imposed sanctions on the Malian junta. It was feared that the military leadership might try to hold on to power and not organize new elections as promised. After tough negotiations, the new regents finally agreed to hold elections in 18 months and stop running as candidates. Ba Ndaw, the former chief of the air force, was appointed acting president on October 5. Coup leader Assimi Goita is vice president. Former UN Ambassador and Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane will become Prime Minister. It is noteworthy that the M5 movement, which organized the mass demonstrations, is currently only represented by a minister of vocational training. A novelty is the inclusion of leaders of the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country. In response to the formation of the new government, both the Cédéao and the AU lifted sanctions last week.
The coup plotters are not very high-ranking officers, but middle cadres, that is, soldiers who are familiar with the realities in the field, including the poor equipment of the army, while generals spend a large part of the military budget on the flow your own pocket. The new leadership gives top priority to the fight against corruption, closely followed by the fight against jihadists. One might wonder, however, how this new “hard line” fits in with the liberation of so many jihadists. The triumph of freeing the hostages is likely to be paid for with future attacks and kidnappings.
