PARIS/N’DJAMENA: A Frenchman was kidnapped in Chad in a remote region near the border with Sudan’s Darfur region early on Thursday, France’s Foreign Ministry said.
The man was kidnapped south of Abeche, a mining area about 800 km east of the capital N’Djamena, a French military source told Reuters.
There were no immediate reports of any group claiming responsibility or making demands in the area crossed by nomadic groups and rebels fighting the Sudanese government over the border in Darfur.
A source close to the matter said officials were leaning toward a criminal act rather than linking it to militancy.
Europe 1 radio said the man in his sixties had been working for a mining company and was seized carrying the staff’s wages, without giving its sources.
“I confirm that a French citizen was kidnapped in Chad and we are doing everything to find him,” President Francois Hollande told reporters.
“When it comes to hostages it’s best to say the least possible in the interests of the person and the discussions that will take place.”
Madeleine Alingue, spokeswoman for the Chadian government, said search operations were underway.
The last French national kidnapped in Chad was an aid worker taken in the eastern border area in 2009 and released nearly three months later inside Darfur.
The Foreign Ministry said it was working with local authorities to secure the man’s freedom.
Chad, a landlocked former French colony, hosts the headquarters of France’s 4,000-strong regional anti-militant operation, known as Barkhane.
It closed its northern border with Libya in January to block militants fleeing the conflict there, and has said it is worried about Daesh operating in its territory.
Around 1,000 French troops are stationed in Chad, including a small detachment at Abeche. About 1,500 other French nationals also live in the country.
Two other French nationals are being held in Africa. One was kidnapped in Mali in December by militants and the other was seized in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier in March.
Frenchman kidnapped near Chad border with Sudan’s Darfur
Frenchman kidnapped near Chad border with Sudan’s Darfur
Hundreds rally in Paris to support Ukraine after four years of war
- Demonstrators chanted: “We support Ukraine against Putin, who is killing it“
- “Frozen Russian assets must be confiscated, they belong to Ukraine“
PARIS: Around one thousand took to the streets of Paris on Saturday to show their “massive support” for Ukraine, just days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Demonstrators marching through the French capital chanted: “We support Ukraine against Putin, who is killing it,” and “Frozen Russian assets must be confiscated, they belong to Ukraine.”
“In public opinion, there is massive support for Ukraine that has not wavered since the first day of the full-scale invasion” by the Russian army on February 24, 2022, European Parliament member Raphael Glucksmann, told AFP.
“On the other hand, in the French political class, sounds of giving up are starting to emerge. On both the far left and the far right, voices of capitulation are getting louder and louder,” he added.
In the crowd, Irina Kryvosheia, a Ukrainian who arrived in France several years ago, “thanked with all her heart the people present.”
She said they reminded “everyone that what has been happening for four years is not normal, it is not right.”
Kryvosheia said she remains in daily contact with her parents in Kyiv, who told her how they were deprived “for several days” of heating, electricity and running water following intense bombardments by the Russian army.
Francois Grunewald, head of “Comite d’Aide Medicale Ukraine,” had just returned from a one-month mission in the country, where the humanitarian organization has delivered around forty generators since the beginning of the year.
Russia’s full-scale invasion sent shockwaves around the world and triggered the bloodiest and most destructive conflict in Europe since World War II.
The war has seen tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of military personnel killed on both sides. Millions of refugees have fled Ukraine, where vast areas have been devastated by fighting.
Russia occupies nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory and its heavy attacks on the country’s energy sites have sparked a major energy crisis.
