Minister of the Forces Florence Parly announced on Friday 11 June the death of the jihadist cadre Aqmi Baye Ag Bakabo, the head of the command who had kidnapped our colleagues Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon on 2 November 2013 in Kidal in northern Mali. But for those close to them, the death of the jihadist deprives them of many answers.
The Minister of Defense specified that on June 5, Barkhane’s soldiers discovered the preparations for a terrorist operation in northern Mali in Aguelhok and which targeted a Minusma position. An operation that led to the elimination of 4 terrorists of which Baye Ag Bakabo. It is this man who drove the pickup that was used for the kidnapping of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. Their bodies were found less than two hours later, a dozen kilometers from Kidal.
Following the announcement of the elimination of this jihadist leader, it is disappointment and grief that dominate for Danièle Gonod, president of the Association of Friends of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. The relatives of our colleagues still have many questions.
“From the beginning, we have wondered about the kidnappers’ motives. We heard about a simple villain from the jihadists, the money was presented. But Ghislaine and Claude also worked on a number of difficult files. They were kidnapped when the hostages were released from Arlit. So we need to know what the real motives were, maybe money was the priority, but maybe that was not the only motive. We have a lot of questions about the kidnapping conditions, the hunt for the kidnappers, how they died. We need this truth. Families, associations and friends will never be appeased until we have a minimum of information about the truth of this tragedy. ”
Questions that Baye Ag Bakabo could have answered, points out Marie Dosé, lawyer for the Association of Friends of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. “We would have liked to have seen him in a box with a large court so that he is responsible for his actions, so that he answers our and the judges’ questions. This is all that this operation deprives us of. We are deprived of his version, his explanation. It is the very heart of the operation to kidnap the murders of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. We were so afraid that this operation would one day deprive us of the truth. This is what’s happening. All questions remain unanswered and that is what is terrible for the civilian parties. The investigation continues, the investigator continues to instruct. There are other people involved, there are others to question, to hear and to judge. We hope so anyway. ”
The news of this death does not satisfy Reporters Without Borders either. “It will not contribute to the manifestation of the truth, on the contrary,” believes Arnaud Froger, head of the Africa office at RSF. It’s a witness, maybe even a senior official who disappears. What the RSF and those close to Ghislaine and Claude are waiting for is to find out what happened and that is a form of legal response. Unfortunately, if the protagonists and those responsible for this kidnapping and the double murder die and disappear one after the other, there will be no justice and it may be difficult to enlighten all areas of shadow that still surround this double murder. “
►The assassination of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon: Command leader killed by French army
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