14 November 2013

RFI’s Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were murdered because their kidnappers‘ vehicle broke down. That’s the most likely explanation for our colleagues‘ deaths in northern Mali on 2 November, according to Paris investigator Francois Molins.

The four-wheel drive vehicle used by the four kidnappers was found abandoned outside Kidal, where the RFI reporters were grabbed.

It had a serious oil leak and would have been unable to go over 40 kmph, leading Molins to conclude that the kidnappers had dumped it and, in a panic about being caught by French troops, killed their captives.

Ghislaine Dupont was hit by three bullets, the first of which, to the aorta, killed her, while Claude Verlon, received seven bullets in the back.

Molins confirmed earlier reports that the key suspect is Bayes Ag Bakabo, a Tuareg drug trafficker with links to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim), which claimed responsibility for the murders, saying they were a reprisal for the French-led intervention in northern Mali earlier this year.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201311141251.html

Malijet, 08/11/13 à 14h20

Les forces armées maliennes ont engagé ce vendredi 08 novembre une offensive contre les rebelles du MNLA, a t-on appris à Malijet de sources sécuritaires.

Des combats sont engagés à environ 70 km à l’est de Menaka dans la localité de Ghazraghan pendant que l’armée malienne se renforce massivement à Kidal.A 13h TU, nous apprenons l’arrivée des premiers renforts de l’armée malienne dans la ville de Kidal.

A suivre.

06.11.13, Terrornetzwerk, Welt.de

Das Terrornetzwerk al-Qaida hat sich zur Ermordung von zwei französischen Reportern bekannt. Die in Mali verübte Tat sei eine Antwort auf die „Verbrechen“, die Frankreich täglich in dem Land verübe.
Die Extremistengruppe al-Qaida im Islamischen Maghreb (AQMI) hat sich zu der Ermordung von zwei französischen Journalisten in Mali bekannt.

Das Attentat sei eine Reaktion auf die „Verbrechen Frankreichs gegen die Malier und den Einsatz der afrikanischen und internationalen Truppen gegen die Muslime in Azawad“, hieß es in einer Erklärung, die am Mittwoch von der mauretanischen Nachrichtenagentur Sahara Medias veröffentlicht wurde. Azawad ist der Name der hauptsächlich von Tuareg bewohnten Region im Norden Malis.
http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article121623951/Al-Qaida-bekennt-sich-zu-Mord-an-Reportern-in-Mali.html

Zwei französische Journalisten des Senders Radio France Internationale sind am Samstag in Mali von Bewaffneten entführt und getötet worden. Das französische Außenministerium teilte am Abend mit, die Leichen der Reporterin Ghislaine Dupont und ihres Kollegen Claude Verlon seien bereits gefunden worden.

Die beiden Franzosen seien dem Sender zufolge für eine Reportage bei der Malischen Solidaritätsbank in Kidal gewesen. Ihre Entführer hätten mit ihnen die Stadt im Nordosten des Landes verlassen, hieß es aus malischen Militärkreisen. Seit etwa 13 Uhr gab es keinen Kontakt mehr zu den Reportern, Stunden später wurden dann ihre Leichen gefunden. „Ghislaine Dupont und Claude Verlon sind tot aufgefunden worden“, erklärte das französische Außenministerium. Die französischen Geheimdienste würden mit den malischen Behörden alles daransetzen, die genauen Umstände aufzuklären.

Paris (AFP) – Two French journalists working for Radio France International who were kidnapped in Mali have been found dead, the French foreign ministry said on Saturday.

„RFI journalists Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont were found dead in Mali,“ the ministry said in a statement, adding they were kidnapped in the town of Kidal by an „armed group“.

„The French government, in conjunction with the Malian authorities will make every effort to find out as soon as possible about the circumstances of their death,“ said the statement.
http://www.krone.at/Welt/Zwei_franzoesische_Reporter_in_Mali_entfuehrt_-_tot-Leichen_gefunden-Story-381408

Paris, 02.11.2013

Vier Tage nach der Freilassung französischer Geiseln in Niger sind zwei französische Journalisten in Mali entführt worden. Der Sender Radio France Internationale meldete die Entführung seiner Mitarbeiter in Kidal. Die beiden erfahrenen Reporter, ein Mann und eine Frau, seien von bewaffneten Männern an Bord eines Geländewagens in der nordmalischen Stadt entführt worden. Am vergangenen Mittwoch sind vier französische Geiseln nach dreijähriger Geiselhaft in Niger freigelassen worden. Die Terrororganisation Al-Kaida im Maghreb hatte sie entführt.

1. November 2013, Bamako

Bamako — The ravages of Mali’s conflict, which paralysed education for almost two years, have disrupted the start of a new school year in the country’s north, where damaged schools, staff shortages and insecurity have set back learning.

Schools reopened across Mali in October. The government and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a back-to-school campaign to help 500,000 children and 9,000 teachers restart schooling. Bamako also set up a scheme to pay civil servants to return to the country’s north.

Northern Mali was overrun by Islamist militants and separatist rebels after the government was overthrown in Bamako in March 2012. The Islamists, who imposed a harsh form of Islamic law, were dislodged by French forces in January. However, security is yet to fully return to the region.

„Despite the measures taken by the government, many teachers have not yet resumed duty in Timbuktu,“ said Mody Abdoulaye Cissé, the Timbuktu education director. He explained that some teachers considered the US$500 government incentive to return to the north too small and felt that it was still unsafe to go back to the region.

„It’s not only a question of money. It’s a matter of life too. Everybody knows that the conflict is not over and there are suicide attackers everywhere. The government is putting the lives of teachers and pupils in danger by opening schools under such conditions. That is why I have decided not to return for the moment,“ said Sekou Sala Koné, a teacher in Timbuktu who is currently living in Bamako.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201311011252.html?aa_source=slideout

23 October 2013, Amnesty International (London)

Elements of Mali’s military appear to be carrying out a purge and extrajudicial killings of soldiers who took part in a mutiny last month in a barracks outside the capital Bamako, Amnesty International said today based on its research.

The bodies of four soldiers were discovered earlier this month near the capital and several others, including a Colonel, remain unaccounted for. These apparent extrajudicial executions and disappearances raise fears that soldiers loyal to General Amadou Haya Sanogo, who staged a coup in March 2012, are purging their ranks to quell dissent.

„This is the latest shocking example of how a small group of soldiers who appear to consider themselves above the law continue to cling onto power in Mali,“ said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International’s researcher on West Africa.

The organization is calling for the Malian authorities to open an independent and impartial investigation into these very serious events, and ensure that those allegedly responsible for the acts are suspended from duty and prosecuted. Such investigations will be a crucial addition to the efforts to restore the rule of law after the armed conflict in northern Mali.

„It’s appalling to see that despite the election of a democratically elected president in August 2013, a small group of soldiers loyal to the former junta continue to impose terror on their perceived opponents, in total impunity,“ said Mootoo.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201310241288.html