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Jihadist Group in Mali Announces Death of French Hostage
[An Nahar] One of Mali's top jihadist groups said on Tuesday a French hostage it had kidnapped in November 2012 was dead.The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO ...Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, another offshoot of Qaeda in North Africa. Currently active in Mali and southern Algeria, the idea is to do as much good in West Africa as AQIM has done in North Africa... ), a splinter group of al-Qaeda's regional branch, told AFP Gilberto Rodrigues Leal "is dead, because La Belle France is our enemy." Yoro Abdoul Salam, a front man for the group, gave no details on the date or circumstances of Rodrigues Leal's death during a brief telephone exchange. Pressed for evidence in the absence of any pictures or video footage of Rodrigues Leal's body, he said that "in the name of Allah, he is dead," before hanging up. The announcement came two days after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he was "extremely worried" about the safety of the 62-year-old. "We haven't had any news for a long time. We are in contact with the family but we are extremely worried," he said. Rodrigues Leal was kidnapped on November 20, 2012 by gunnies near the western town of Kayes as he was driving a camper van from Mauritania. Posted by: Fred 2014-04-23 |
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