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Two aid workers employed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were kidnapped in northern Mali on Saturday, the Malian branch of the ICRC announced on Twitter.
Two employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were kidnapped on Saturday March 4 in Mali, the Malian branch of the NGO said on Twitter.
“We confirm the kidnapping of two of our colleagues this morning between Gao and Kidal”, specifies the ICRC. “Present in Mali for 32 years, the ICRC is a neutral, independent and impartial organisation.” “We ask not to speculate on this incident so as not to make its resolution more difficult,” he added.
We confirm the kidnapping of 02 of our colleagues this morning between Gao and Kidal. We ask not to speculate on this incident so as not to hinder its resolution. Present in Mali for 32 years, the ICRC is a neutral, independent and impartial organization #pasunecible pic.twitter.com/fXBT5stPgH
— ICRC in Mali (@ICRC_Mali) March 4, 2023
Aminata Alassane, spokesperson for the ICRC in Mali, confirmed the kidnapping to AFP. “The ICRC deplores (the incident) and demands the release of its collaborators,” she said.
In May, gunmen abducted three Italians and a Togolese national in southeastern Mali, a country in the grip of a security crisis, sparked by a regional revolt in the north that turned into a jihadist insurgency.
Thousands of civilians, police and soldiers killed in the region
The violence that has shaken this Sahelian country since 2012 is the work of jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, but also self-proclaimed militias and bandits.
The unrest has spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of civilians, police and military have been killed in the region, and more than two million people have fled their homes.
>> To read: The UN is concerned regarding northern Mali plagued by abuses by armed groups
In Burkina Faso, an American nun who was kidnapped by jihadists last April was freed in August.
In February, a World Health Organization (WHO) doctor who had been kidnapped in late January in Mali was released.
With AFP