US missionary, captive for 20 months, is alive, reports Niger’s president
World Watch Monitor A US missionary kidnapped in Niger in October, 2016 is alive, according to the West African nation’s president. Jeff Woodke, who worked for Jeunesse en Mission Entraide et Developpement (JEMED), a branch of the US-based Youth With a Mission, was abducted by unknown assailants late in the evening of Friday, 14th October, […]
Kidnapped missionaries appear in video posted by jihadist groups in Africa’s Sahel
World Watch Monitor A coalition of jihadist groups affiliated to al-Qaeda released a video showing six foreign hostages, including three missionaries, just hours before France President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Mali, where France agreed to help support anti-terrorist efforts in the Sahel. According to the US-based monitoring group SITE, the undated almost 17 minute footage was […]
A year on, Swiss missionary’s captors in Mali release second “proof-of-life” video
World Watch Monitor A video released by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on Tuesday shows a new proof of life of the Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly who is being held captive in Mali. The two minute, 17 second video shows a woman – head covered by a black veil – who identifies herself as […]
Murder of Fulani Christian mayor in Mali increases concerns over creeping Islamic extremism
World Watch Monitor The motive behind the murder of a Fulani Christian politician in Mali last month remains unknown, but locals suspect an Islamist agenda. Moussa Issah Bary, the 47-year-old deputy mayor of Kerana (near the Burkina Faso border), was shot dead by six unidentified men on motorbikes on 16th November. He is survived by […]