In Mali, five Christians were abducted on Monday, June 21, in the middle of the country. They had left the Mopti region and went to the Ségou region. They never got to their destination. The kidnapping has been confirmed by regional authorities, but it has not been claimed. The area is being visited by jihadists from Katiba Macina, linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, but no claims have been made at this stage.
Father Léon Dougnon and four faithful men from the town of Ségué, near Mopti, attended the funeral of the former parish priest. They left Monday morning but never reached San, the Segou region, their final destination.
When one of his friends tried to reach Father Léon on his phone at the end of the morning, he did not answer the call. Father Kizito Togo, parish priest at Mopti Cathedral, is among the first to notice the disappearance.
They left Monday morning at 8 o’clock and never arrived in Mopti …
Testimony of Father Kizito Togo from Mopti Cathedral
Attacks on the Christian community are not common in Mali, but there are precedents. In 2012, during the occupation of the northern regions by jihadist groups, churches had been targeted and Christians forced to flee.
More recently, we can mention the kidnapping of sister Gloria Argoti, 2017 of Colombian nationality and is still held by the support group for Islam and Muslims, linked to the Aqmi or the attack on the Christian village Sobane Da, 2019, which had killed 35 people, including 24 children.
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