French reporter kidnapped by jihadist rebels in north Mali

Olivier Dubois was kidnapped April 8 by the al-Qaida-linked group JNIM. Photo / Twitter

The chief of Reporters Without Borders says that French journalist Olivier Dubois was kidnapped April 8 while working in Mali's northern city of Gao.

A video was released Wednesday that shows Dubois saying he was kidnapped by the al-Qaida-linked group JNIM. In the video he calls on his family, friends and authorities to work for his release. The video could not be independently verified.

BREAKING: #JNIM claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of #French journalist Olivier Dubois. He said in a video of 20 seconds he was taken on April 4th in Gao city, eastern #Mali. pic.twitter.com/UlfUuBSFP3

— Mogadishu Update (@Magdashi3) May 5, 2021

Reporters Without Borders chief Christophe Deloire confirmed the kidnapping to AP, and called for the reporter's release.

"We ask the Malian and French authorities to do everything possible to obtain his release and send all our support to his family and loved ones," he posted on Twitter.

Olivier Dubois was kidnapped April 8 while working in Mali's northern city of Gao. Photo / Twitter

Dubois was reporting in Gao in northern Mali and did not return to his hotel after lunch on April 8, Deloire said. Dubois usually works for LePoint Afrique.

The French Foreign Ministry confirmed his disappearance, saying it is in touch with his family and Malian authorities.

Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted mutinous soldiers to overthrow the president. The power vacuum that resulted ultimately led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led campaign that ousted the jihadists from the cities they controlled in northern Mali in 2013.

But insurgents remain active and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali since 2015, attacking targets and stoking animosity and violence between ethnic groups in the region