His car door was also reportedly open and there were footprints on the ground “as if someone had resisted” the suspected kidnapping, the news agency reports.
According to the information service of Propaganda Fide, the kidnapped missionary’s nationality may have attracted the interest of some groups operating in the West African country.
Agenzia Fides reports that in Mali, the Bundeswehr, the German army, participates with some 1,200 soldiers in the UN MINUSMA mission.
“Germany is one of the few European countries to still have its own military in Mali, after the withdrawal of those of France, while Great Britain also wants to follow suit. The Berlin government is also considering ending the mission, for which the German parliament has given a mandate until May 2023,” reports Agenzia Fides.
Several jihadist groups linked to both Al Qaeda and ISIS operate in Mali, and in the past they have been responsible for several kidnappings of foreigners, such as that of Sr. Gloria Cecilia Narváez, the Colombian missionary who was kidnapped on 7 February 2017 near Koutiala in Mali, and released on 9 October 2021.
Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.
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