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| Elderly Australian couple kidnapped in northern Burkina Faso | Elderly Australian couple kidnapped in northern Burkina Faso |
| (7 months later) | |
| Two Australian citizens – a doctor and his wife – have been kidnapped by extremists in northern Burkina Faso near the border with Mali, the country’s security ministry has confirmed. | Two Australian citizens – a doctor and his wife – have been kidnapped by extremists in northern Burkina Faso near the border with Mali, the country’s security ministry has confirmed. |
| A Burkinabe intelligence source said the Australians, named by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as Ken and Jocelyn Elliot, were believed to be a couple in their 80s from Perth who had lived since 1972 in Djibo, near Baraboulé. | A Burkinabe intelligence source said the Australians, named by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as Ken and Jocelyn Elliot, were believed to be a couple in their 80s from Perth who had lived since 1972 in Djibo, near Baraboulé. |
| An earlier interior ministry statement had wrongly identified the couple as Austrian. | An earlier interior ministry statement had wrongly identified the couple as Austrian. |
| The couple built a 120-bed medical facility in Djibo. Elliot has been the only doctor at the Friends of Burkina Faso medical clinic, where he conducts as many as 150 surgeries a month. | The couple built a 120-bed medical facility in Djibo. Elliot has been the only doctor at the Friends of Burkina Faso medical clinic, where he conducts as many as 150 surgeries a month. |
| A security ministry spokesperson said the jihadis abducted the couple from the town of Baraboulé in Soum province in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region. | A security ministry spokesperson said the jihadis abducted the couple from the town of Baraboulé in Soum province in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region. |
| A spokesman for Malian militant group Ansar Dine, Hamadou Ag Khallini, said in a brief phone message the couple were being held by jihadists from the Al-Qaida-linked “Emirate of the Sahara”. | A spokesman for Malian militant group Ansar Dine, Hamadou Ag Khallini, said in a brief phone message the couple were being held by jihadists from the Al-Qaida-linked “Emirate of the Sahara”. |
| He said they were alive and more details would be released soon. | He said they were alive and more details would be released soon. |
| 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. | 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. |
| “According to our information, the kidnappers’ objective is to take the hostages towards Mali,” the source added, declining to give further details. | “According to our information, the kidnappers’ objective is to take the hostages towards Mali,” the source added, declining to give further details. |
| A military base in the same region was attacked by militants in August last year, with one Burkinabe policeman killed. | A military base in the same region was attacked by militants in August last year, with one Burkinabe policeman killed. |
| The Emirate of the Sahara is a branch of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operating in northern Mali, according to experts. | The Emirate of the Sahara is a branch of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operating in northern Mali, according to experts. |
| It was not immediately clear whether the abduction was linked to an attack carried out by al-Qaida fighters against a hotel in the country’s capital late on Friday, in which at least 27 people from 18 different nationalities were killed. | It was not immediately clear whether the abduction was linked to an attack carried out by al-Qaida fighters against a hotel in the country’s capital late on Friday, in which at least 27 people from 18 different nationalities were killed. |
| Security forces confirmed three jihadis had also been killed in the assault on the Splendid hotel and nearby Cappuccino cafe in Ouagadougou. | Security forces confirmed three jihadis had also been killed in the assault on the Splendid hotel and nearby Cappuccino cafe in Ouagadougou. |
| A fourth was killed at the Yibi hotel, which was searched by troops as part of a later raid on nearby buildings. | A fourth was killed at the Yibi hotel, which was searched by troops as part of a later raid on nearby buildings. |
| Security forces freed 150 hostages, including at least 33 wounded, from the Splendid hotel, after militants took control of the five-storey building popular with UN staff and foreigners. | Security forces freed 150 hostages, including at least 33 wounded, from the Splendid hotel, after militants took control of the five-storey building popular with UN staff and foreigners. |
| Dozens of French forces arrived overnight from neighbouring Mali to aid in the rescue. | Dozens of French forces arrived overnight from neighbouring Mali to aid in the rescue. |
| Agence France-Presse contributed to this report | Agence France-Presse contributed to this report |