Colombian nun kidnapped in southern Mali

AFP, BAMAKO: A Colombian nun has been kidnapped by gunmen in southern Mali, a Malian security source and a local official said Wednesday.
The woman was kidnapped late Tuesday near Koutiala, a city some 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of the capital, Bamako, which is in the Sikasso region near the Burkina Faso border.
“The Malian army is in pursuit,” a security source who asked not to be identified told AFP.
A local official said the kidnappers drove away in a vehicle owned by the nun’s Franciscan order.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the kidnapping which follows the Christmas Eve capture of a French aid worker, Sophie Petronin, in the restive north of Mali, where jihadists have staged repeated attacks.
Last month, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa released a new proof-of-life video of Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly, who has been held hostage by the group for more than a year.
The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) video showed Stockly, who was captured in the north, saying she was in good health.
The north fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012 who were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013.

 

Colombian nun kidnapped in southern Mali

AFP, BAMAKO: A Colombian nun has been kidnapped by gunmen in southern Mali, a Malian security source and a local official said Wednesday. The woman was kidnapped late Tuesday near Koutiala, a city some 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of the capital, Bamako, which is in the Sikasso region near the Burkina Faso border. The Malian army is in pursuit, a security source who asked not to be identified told AFP. A local official said the kidnappers drove away in a vehicle owned by the nuns Franciscan order. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the kidnapping which follows the Christmas Eve capture of a French aid worker, Sophie Petronin, in the restive north of Mali, where jihadists have staged repeated attacks. Last month, Al-Qaedas affiliate in North Africa released a new proof-of-life video of Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly, who has been held hostage by the group for more than a year. The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) video showed Stockly, who was captured in the north, saying she was in good health. The north fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012 who were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013.