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27 Nov 2022
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Recent kidnappings (of foreigners)
'In Mali, Nopparat Rattanawaraha, who runs a popular YouTube channel where he posts travel clips, returned to Thailand after being released on payment of a reported $150,000 ransom [after three weeks]. He was seized while driving from Burkina Faso into Mali with a driver and guide...'
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...i-kidnap-drama
'In Chad,*a Franco-Australian Jérôme Hugonnot working for the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) was kidnapped [near the Sudan border] for two days... He arrived in the early evening aboard an army plane [at] Adji Kosseï military base, notably housing the headquarters of Barkhane, the French anti-jihadist force in the Sahel.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...napped-in-chad
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28 Nov 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Scott
'In Mali, Nopparat Rattanawaraha, who runs a popular YouTube channel where he posts travel clips, returned to Thailand after being released on payment of a reported $150,000 ransom [after three weeks]. He was seized while driving from Burkina Faso into Mali with a driver and guide...'
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...i-kidnap-drama
'In Chad,*a Franco-Australian Jérôme Hugonnot working for the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) was kidnapped [near the Sudan border] for two days... He arrived in the early evening aboard an army plane [at] Adji Kosseï military base, notably housing the headquarters of Barkhane, the French anti-jihadist force in the Sahel.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...napped-in-chad
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First time, as far as I can remember, that I hear about kidnapping in Chad, any impressions of who is behind it? The Sudanese border seems a long way from the troubled Sahel region west of Lake Chad.
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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.
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28 Nov 2022
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Kidnappings are not unheard of in Chad (2006 Bilma Erg; 2007 Tibesti) but it was more Yemeni style robbery/hostage/ran$om, and certainly not jihadists.
There was even a film about one in the 80s, Le Captif du Desert.
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9 Dec 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eurasiaoverland
First time, as far as I can remember, that I hear about kidnapping in Chad, any impressions of who is behind it? The Sudanese border seems a long way from the troubled Sahel region west of Lake Chad.
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Most of Chad's border regions are rather sketchy from a security perspective. The Lake Chad area got a bunch of headlines semi-recently, but all of their borders have been porous and unstable for a long time. For example, in the northwest, the Tibesti region has had security problems for many years, and the gold mining has only made it worse. Keep in mind that's where the (now dead, former) president was fighting rebels. Also, Faya area (in the north) has a thriving smuggling industry from Libya. Its fairly normal to see lots of relatively new, expensive Toyotas driving around with Libyan tags.
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22 Oct 2024
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Swiss female tourist killed in Djanet (11 Oct 2024)
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22 Oct 2024
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Since there hasnt been much going on for years now, still fairly safe.
But the silence from the authorities is unsettling.
Two guys from the north who had been in Djanet for half a year is all I heard.
Nothing about motives.
Many of us have been to this café
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25 Oct 2024
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25 Oct 2024
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Those kind of loner attacks are so random they could happen anywhere in Maghreb at any time.
They also happen in Europe and elsewhere. What differs is the response of the authorities.
We dont report so much from WA anymore, perhaps because we have given up hope of returning to Mali, Burkina or Niger for the time being.
Mali south and west of Bamako seem to be ok still. East and north thereof is not.
July 2022 jihadists attacked the main army camp at Kati, 15 kms from Bamako on the main road. They used car bombs.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7...ly-mali-attack
And last month, Sept 17 2024 they made a coordinated attack on the garrison in centre ville to distract from a main attack on the Senou airport, setting fire to several airplanes. The airport sees both military and civilian traffic.
crisisgroup.org/africa/sahel/mali/attaque-jihadiste-du-17-septembre-bamako-lechec-du-tout-securitaire-au-mali
Mali now relies on security by itself and from the Wagner group after the UN Minusma and French Barkhane operations were terminated by the government in 2023.
And in the north Ukraine is arming rebels to take out Wagner troops, with some success.
Perhaps good to know if you are actually going that-a-way.
Last edited by priffe; 25 Oct 2024 at 18:55.
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17 Jan 2025
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In case you missed it, and posted elsewhere too - a Spanish man has been kidnapped in southern Algeria and taken to Mali. There is an unsubstantiated rumour that it may have been in/around Tamanrasset, which makes it doubly concerning.
https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo...114209964.html
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17 Jan 2025
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edwardbgill
In case you missed it, and posted elsewhere too - a Spanish man has been kidnapped in southern Algeria and taken to Mali. There is an unsubstantiated rumour that it may have been in/around Tamanrasset, which makes it doubly concerning.
https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo...114209964.html |
Early reports suggested the Islamic State, but this is not confirmed, others point to JNIM.
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17 Jan 2025
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A 73-year-old Austrian woman was also kidnapped a week ago in Agadez.
https://www.euronews.com/2025/01/13/...%C3%AFr%20Info.
Eva Gretzmacher is a well-known figure in Agadez for her social commitment, a skills centre in 2010 that initiated various projects, notably in education, women’s empowerment, ecology, culture and art, reported Nigerien outlet Aïr Info.
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19 Jan 2025
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According to some rumors, the Spanish tourist tried to avoid being escorted by stating that he had family in Tamanrasset and that he was visiting them.
They were 4 people kidnapped 3 Algerians: 2 Touareg guides, 1 Algerian from Algiers (a contact of the Spanish tourist) and the Spanish tourist.
In northern Mali, the 3 Algerians were released in the wild and terrorists kept the sole foreigner.
This is basically what the released Algerians mentioned, this version is being investigated as it is totally possible that the Algerian "friend" could potentially also have terrorists ties.
BTW, the kidnapped Spanish tourist is a guy with long hair (this is why there are conflicting reports stating that the person is a woman) and has origins from latin America.
Even though the Spanish tourist made a major mistake trying to avoid being escorted, it is still appalling that 8 foreign terrorists were able to enter and exit Algeria so easily over 400 km.
There is an ongoing investigation and I'll keep you updated when I have more news from Algerian sources.
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19 Jan 2025
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Do we assume they were all grabbed while on the N1 highway?
Quote:
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as it is totally possible that the Algerian "friend" could potentially also have terrorists ties.
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It is also possible that anyone along the route who saw the southbound vehicle and knew one occupant was a foreigner could have called it in. This has happened before.
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20 Jan 2025
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gdz
Even though the Spanish tourist made a major mistake trying to avoid being escorted, it is still appalling that 8 foreign terrorists were able to enter and exit Algeria so easily over 400 km.
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This is the particularly shocking bit - that it was apparently near Tam (has that been confirmed?).
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Chris Scott, ferdi
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