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| French military kills Al-Qaeda commander blamed for kidnapping & murder of journalists in 2013, defense minister says | French military kills Al-Qaeda commander blamed for kidnapping & murder of journalists in 2013, defense minister says |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| During its operation in Africa’s Sahel region, France’s military killed an Al-Qaeda commander believed to be responsible for kidnapping and murdering two French journalists in 2013, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has said. | During its operation in Africa’s Sahel region, France’s military killed an Al-Qaeda commander believed to be responsible for kidnapping and murdering two French journalists in 2013, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has said. |
| On June 5, French troops taking part in the counter-terrorism ‘Operation Barkhane’ prevented an attack on a UN outpost in the village of Aguelhok in northern Mali, Parly said in a statement on Friday. Four terrorists, who were preparing to fire mortars at the Chadian peacekeepers stationed at the facility, were killed, including a man identified as Baye ag Bakabo, the minister added. | On June 5, French troops taking part in the counter-terrorism ‘Operation Barkhane’ prevented an attack on a UN outpost in the village of Aguelhok in northern Mali, Parly said in a statement on Friday. Four terrorists, who were preparing to fire mortars at the Chadian peacekeepers stationed at the facility, were killed, including a man identified as Baye ag Bakabo, the minister added. |
| French prosecutors have named Bakabo the prime suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Radio France Internationale (RFI) journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in November 2013. | French prosecutors have named Bakabo the prime suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Radio France Internationale (RFI) journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in November 2013. |
| Dupont and Verlon were seized by gunmen in the northern Malian town of Kidal after an interview with a local separatist leader. The pair were driven away and shot dead shortly after the kidnapping. | Dupont and Verlon were seized by gunmen in the northern Malian town of Kidal after an interview with a local separatist leader. The pair were driven away and shot dead shortly after the kidnapping. |
| According to the prosecutors, Bakabo – a drug trafficker and member of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – was the owner and driver of a pickup truck that had been abandoned in the desert not far from the spot where the bodies of the journalist were discovered. | According to the prosecutors, Bakabo – a drug trafficker and member of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – was the owner and driver of a pickup truck that had been abandoned in the desert not far from the spot where the bodies of the journalist were discovered. |
| AQIM took responsibility for the killings, saying that it was retribution to France for its incursion into West Africa. | AQIM took responsibility for the killings, saying that it was retribution to France for its incursion into West Africa. |
| “Today, all my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon," Parly wrote in her statement on Friday. | “Today, all my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon," Parly wrote in her statement on Friday. |
| Just a day earlier, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France is ending Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, but will keep a reduced contingent of troops in the region as part of the broader international anti-terrorist force. He said that all the details of the drawdown will be finalized by the end of this month. | Just a day earlier, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France is ending Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, but will keep a reduced contingent of troops in the region as part of the broader international anti-terrorist force. He said that all the details of the drawdown will be finalized by the end of this month. |
| The French military was deployed under the operation in West Africa in 2014 to help the ‘5G Sahel’ nations – Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania – in their fight against jihadist militants. Al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups have gained a foothold in the region after a NATO bombing campaign in Libya led to the overthrow of the country’s longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. | The French military was deployed under the operation in West Africa in 2014 to help the ‘5G Sahel’ nations – Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania – in their fight against jihadist militants. Al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups have gained a foothold in the region after a NATO bombing campaign in Libya led to the overthrow of the country’s longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. |
| Paris currently has some 5,100 troops deployed in Sahel, mostly in Mali. Since the start of Operation Barkhane, France has lost more than 50 of its soldiers in West Africa. | Paris currently has some 5,100 troops deployed in Sahel, mostly in Mali. Since the start of Operation Barkhane, France has lost more than 50 of its soldiers in West Africa. |
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