Mali

After moments of joy and effusion, following the release late last week in Mali of the three Western hostages and opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé, the continent's press is focusing on the underside of transactions on Monday. How many jihadists have been freed in exchange for hostages? Impossible to have an exact number. We're talking about 200 warriors. What is certain is that some of them met last Friday to celebrate their release. "The elements of GSIM, the support group for Islam and Muslims, wereted no time in…

At least five Western hostages are still being held captive in the Sahel. Among them the Colombian Gloria Cecilia Argoti, with whom Sophie Pétronin spent most of her captivity, or the Australian Arthur Kenneth Elliot. Back in France, the former French hostage was able to provide news about the health of some other hostages.…

Ghanaian head of state Nana Akufo-Addo, current president of the West African states (ECOWAS), declared on Sunday (October 11th) during her visit to Bamako that she had "good hope" that the Malian transitional authorities would respect their obligations. "At the moment, all the actions taken by the transitional authorities give…

The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, the current President of ECOWAS is expected this Sunday, October 11 in Bamako for a few hours. He is the first head of state to visit Mali since ECOWAS lifted the embargo. He comes to take stock of the political transition, discuss the next steps so that the election deadlines are met. But his first message will be "solidarity with Mali". as reported from Bamako, It is first and foremost a journey to mark ECOWAS 'solidarity with Mali. The country finds its place in the…

The recent release of hostages in Mali raises hopes that more hostages will be released. Several Malians and six Westerners are still in the hands of the jihadists in the Sahel. Among them is the Colombian nun Gloria Cecilia Argoti, known as "Sister Gloria". The Colombian nun was abducted on February 7, 2017 in Karangasso, in the Sikasso region of southern Mali. She then appears in two videos, including one with French-Swiss Sophie Pétronin, who was released Thursday night. That was in September 2018. Since then, there is…

Available! Finally free! Soumaïla Cissé, Sophie Pétronin and the other hostages are reunited with their families. Also the senior figures from the IBK regime who were arrested during the coup regain freedom while the Malays regain a government and Mali, its rights and powers within ECOWAS. Can we therefore consider that everything is in order and that this country can now resume a normal life?No alas! No! But before we…

Switzerland's foreign ministry said on Friday that a Swiss woman held hostage in Mali had been killed by an Islamist group. The ministry said it had been informed by French authorities that the hostages had been "killed by kidnappers from the Islamist terrorist organization Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam Muslimeen about a month…

"Behind the scenes of a liberation". It is a title that we find at the same time on the front page of Le Figaro and on the front page of Liberation exactly when Le Monde prefers to show "the end of the ordeal for Sophie Pétronin". Because, of course, the newspapers are returning to the release of this 75-year-old French humanitarian, Thursday night after nearly four years of captivity in Mali. A liberation, yes, and "a lot of questions" according to Le Parisien Today in France. The first of them on Emmanuel Macron's…

The release on Thursday night of the four hostages in Mali, Soumaïla Cissé, Sophie Pétronin and the two Italians, Nicola Chiacchio and father Pier Luigi Maccalli, came after long and difficult negotiations with a long uncertain outcome. A ransom would have been paid and many jihadists were released by the Malian authorities. A look back at what we know about the negotiations and the compensation required. with our correspondent in Bamako, On April 5, a few days after the kidnapping of Soumaïla Cissé, the then Prime…

Another hostage in Mali, a Swiss woman, was killed by her captors. Bern officially announced it on Friday evening, October 9th. We do not currently know if his death has anything to do with the release of Soumaila Cissé and Sophie Pétronin. The Swiss authorities have not announced the name of the hostage who would have been…