As the Sahel Summit got underway in Bamako, an al-Qaeda linked group released video proof of foreign hostages under its custody. This happened a few hours before the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron in Bamako.
According to the Site, Intelligence Group, the recently-formed Islamist group, Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen released the video on Telegram on Saturday. The video shows foreign hostages from South Africa, Australia, Romania, Switzerland, Colombia and France.
The narrator mentions President Macron by name, adding that the French hostage was hoping the new French president would come to her rescue. A number of foreign hostages have been held in Mali for years now.
In response to the video, French President Emmanuel Macron said this in a statement: “Our challenge is that the general staff command be set up, that the decisions be enacted as quickly as possible so that you may be able to see the traces of this command and its organisation by the end of August – because I think that would send a strong signal and be a concrete element of the deployment – so that together, in September and October, we are able to move towards the finalisation of the financing but also, especially of the operational deployment.”
Ibrahim Boubakar Keita added to Macron’s statement, highlighting the importance of states cooperating to fight terrorism.
“President Macron is hoping for a greater alliance for the Sahel and that is a good thing. It’s also clear that France alone must not continue to bear the burden of this fight against terrorism which concerns the whole world,” he said.
“Having said that she plays an essential role in world peace today, in the preservation of world peace, not just for Sahel but also and especially for our European friends.”
