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TWO AUSTRALIANS HAVE been kidnapped in Burkina Faso, officials said, as a Malian Islamist group said the couple were in the hands of Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.
The Burkina government said the pair were kidnapped in Baraboule, near the west African country’s borders with Niger and Mali.
A Burkinabe intelligence source told AFP the Australians were a couple in their 80s from the western city of Perth who had lived since 1972 in Djibo, near Baraboule.
News of the kidnapping came as a jihadist assault on an upmarket hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou left at least 26 people dead, including many foreigners.
Burkina Faso’s Communications Minister Remi Dandjinou said the couple were Australian nationals, correcting an earlier interior ministry statement identifying them as Austrian.
A spokesman for Malian militant group Ansar Dine, Hamadou Ag Khallini, told AFP in a brief phone message that the couple were being held by jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked “Emirate of the Sahara”.
He said they were alive and more details would be released soon.
The Australian department of foreign affairs said it was aware of the reports but declined to comment further when contacted by AFP.
“Our post in Accra, Ghana, is working with local authorities on a suspected kidnapping. We will not comment further on the situation,” it said.
A European diplomatic source confirmed they had received intelligence on Friday that a Western couple had been kidnapped in Burkina Faso, without giving their nationality.
Ansar Dine is one of the jihadist groups that seized control of northern Mali in March and April 2012.
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ffs has there been a day this week that hadn’t got another story about this depraved religion?.
Or a story where they try to convince us to throw our borders open to them!
Nuke the whole lot of them and start over again
Brave lads kidnapping octogenarians.
Every comment mentioning Islam has been removed, – is it cowardice, or is there an agenda…
Its been going on all week on articles about Islam vlad, perfectly harmless opinions been removed for no apparent reasons?.
Angela and Sutherland must be in charge of moderating.
islam is a religion of peace lol
If this is truly the correct portrayal of the Prophet Mohamed and his ideals then these so called followers are proclaiming to the world that Islam is a religion of Hell. Ordinary decent followers of Islam will disown these militant heretics if they possess real regard for their own religion. Most Muslims are genuinely horrified at what is allegedly being done in their name.
Then where is the great “winter rising” of moderate Muslims, sweeping across North Africa and Arabia, defeating these barbarians in the name of Allah, their peaceful God, and restoring peace and calm to the normally peaceful region ? /sarc
A couple on their 80”s held hostage. Beautiful peace loving religion of Islam. I love multiculturalism it’s great how Muslims etc come to western countries and integrate and mix with the locals. Live and let live can’t wait for thousands of them to come here. Some horrible racists and xenophobes would rather they were left in their own barbaric hovels to live like savage barbarians but not me
Are they really Mike?
Not so splended now
have your say