Found Alive Burkina Faso (Africa) - Edith Blais, 34 & Luca Tacchetto, 30, Canada & Italy tourists, 15 Dec 2018

[ZaZara]

Cento giorni senza Luca e Edith «Sono vivi, ma bisogna aspettare»

PADOVA - Nine thousand kilometers of travel, one hundred days of anguish and one disturbing question: are the Paduan architect Luca Tacchetto and his Canadian travel companion Edith Blais, who vanished on 15 December in Burkina Faso, still alive?
"In my opinion these two people are still alive, hostage to someone for economic reasons" Father Eliseo Tacchella says with a sigh. Father Eliseo is a Comboni missionary from Verona who has a great knowledge of black Africa.

Three months ago, a friend of the Tacchetto family asked him to find useful contacts in that very poor country nestled between the Sahara desert and the Gulf of Guinea. "I don't think they have died - the missionary reasons - because in that case their bodies would have been found and we would know. We must keep our hopes high. We must have confidence."


BBM

 

[Cryptic]

Possibly taken to Mali... that would be news.

The latest that I was aware of was that they would have been abducted near Pama on their way to the border with Togo, in the South of Burkina Faso. Mali is on the North, in the other direction.

Though French military intervention has driven the movement underground, Mali has the oldest and best established Islamacist terror gang in francophone Africa.

The surviving "OGs" in the Mali chapter probably command respect and to a degree, obedience from "daughter chapters" in places like Burkina Faso and Togo. Living western hostages are a valuable ransom commodity and also a prestige commodity.

The Mali OGs may have "encouraged" the Burkina Faso crew to sell them the westerners and threatened negative concequences if they refused. The selling of hostages is pretty routine amongst these groups. They also take mafia like respect / concequences pretty seriously too.

Such an "encouraged" sale might of also had a practical motive if the Burkina Faso crew does not think they have the resources and experience to carry out a complex ransom negotiation. A hostage sale to the OGs in Mali would earn them money, allow them to show respect, and.... get some of the "heat" off them.

 

[Catmommy]

My problem with the kidnapping for ransom scenario is that, as far as has been reported, there's been no ransom requested for either Blais or Tacchetto. After three months. My opinion only is that a ransom request with proof of life would have been made immediately.

 

[zecats]

Though French military intervention has driven the movement underground, Mali has the oldest and best established Islamacist terror gang in francophone Africa.

The surviving "OGs" in the Mali chapter probably command respect and to a degree, obedience from "daughter chapters" in places like Burkina Faso and Togo. Living western hostages are a valuable ransom commodity and also a prestige commodity.

The Mali OGs may have "encouraged" the Burkina Faso crew to sell them the westerners and threatened negative concequences if they refused. The selling of hostages is pretty routine amongst these groups. They also take mafia like respect / concequences pretty seriously too.

Such an "encouraged" sale might of also had a practical motive if the Burkina Faso crew does not think they have the resources and experience to carry out a complex ransom negotiation. A hostage sale to the OGs in Mali would earn them money, allow them to show respect, and.... get some of the "heat" off them.

This is interesting and does give some hope they are still alive. What a terrifying ordeal. It seems a long slow process and I hate to imagine the agony the victims and their families are experiencing. I hope for a resolution for them.

 

[zecats]

My problem with the kidnapping for ransom scenario is that, as far as has been reported, there's been no ransom requested for either Blais or Tacchetto. After three months. My opinion only is that a ransom request with proof of life would have been made immediately.

Perhaps with possible negotiating between various groups and countries, the time can be explained. Kidnapped by one group, moved and/or sold to another, etc..and eventually to another country like Mali, all secretly as they have not been spotted since their disappearance. It's a long, slow agonizing ordeal for sure, but there could be some hope at the end if ransom is the motive. JMO

 

[Cryptic]

This is interesting and does give some hope they are still alive.

I think the following scenario would yield hope that they are still alive. To me, the scenario seems plausible:

- The couple is kidnapped by a 'casual' jihader group as opposed to a 'severe' group. The casual jihaders have religious motivations- but also have a big cash motive. Westerners are not captured to be killed per se, but rather ransomed. Other cash infusions come from small scale checkpoint shakedowns, collecting protection money and extorting "donations".

- Local casual gang of goat herders turned jihaders realizes that they don't have the skills or experience to negotiate for ransom. Captives are passed to (or demanded by) the Burkina Faso National Chapter whose members include a few people with more skills. Rural gang is given a "finders fee" for the captives.

- The rapid French military intervention in Mali drove out the Mother Chapter "OG" gangsters with out a lot of fighting. The Jihaders scattered. No banzai charges nor "cave fighting to the death". Rather, "OGs" especially went underground and wait. Most jihad leaders survived.

- Mali "OG" leaders contact the Daughter Chapter in Burkina Faso and "carrot and stick" the selling of the hostages to them. This takes time as French, Malian, and Burkino Fasan troops must be avoided and the French have extremely sophisticated electronic eaves dropping / financial transaction tracking equipment (apparently a French specialty) in Mali.

 

[zecats]

I think the following scenario would yield hope that they are still alive. To me, the scenario seems plausible:

- The couple is kidnapped by a 'casual' jihader group as opposed to a 'severe' group. Sure, the casual jihaders have religious reasons- but they are also a big cash motive. Westerners are not captured to be killed per se, but rather ransomed. Other cash infusions come from checkpoint shakedowns, collecting protection money and extorting "donations".

- Local casual group of goat herders turned jihading gang realizes that they don't have the skills or experience to negotiate for ransom. Captives are passed to (or demanded by) the Burkina Faso National Chapter whose members include a few people with more skills. Rural gang is given a "finders fee" for the captives.

- The rapid French military intervention in Mali drove out the Mother Chapter "OG" gangsters with out a lot of fighting. The Jihaders stayed away from banzai charges and "cave fighting to the death". Rather, "OGs" go underground and wait. As a result, most leaders survive.

- Mali "OGs" contact the Daughter Chapter in Burkina Faso and "carrot and stick" the selling of the hostages to them. This takes time as French, Malian, and Burkino Fasan troops must be avoided and the French have portable and extremely sophisticated electronic eaves dropping equipment (apparently a French specialty) in Mali.

You stated what I meant in my last post, with much more knowledgable detail. Thank you.

Hope this will be the case. It usually does take a long while to settle these matters, if governments and families are willing and able to negotiate ransoms. So while I try to be optimistic that they are alive and will eventually be released, I'm not sure it will be soon. JMO

 

[ZaZara]

Burkina Faso, la Ong: «I sequestratori nascondono Luca Tacchetto ed Edith Blais in Mali»

Human Rights Watch: "The kidnappers hide Luca and Edith in Mali"

Information gathered by Human Rights Watch: "Confirmations from local security sources." The young Paduan architect and his Canadian friend have been missing since 15 December.



PADUA - "Kidnapped and taken to Mali". The last trail in the disappearance of the Paduan Luca Tacchetto and his Canadian friend Edith Blais, leads to West Africa. To support this, Human Rights Watch, the NGO created in 1978 to promote the defense of human rights and known above all for the accuracy of its files, that are characterized by a timely assessment of the facts. And it is in the last report, published in recent days, that HRW analyzed the (worrying) situation in Burkina Faso. HRW reconstructs the violence committed between April 2018 and February this year by Islamist groups (the report documents the deaths of 42 civilians) and denounces the atrocities that are attributed to government security forces, responsible for 115 summary executions of men and adolescents.

The report also deals with the kidnapping of the young man from Padua, who left his parents' house in Vigonza at the end of November for a long car journey that took him, together with his Canadian girlfriend, to France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali, until he reached Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city in Burkina Faso, on 15 December.
The couple were supposed to reach Togo, for work as volunteers in the construction of a village. Instead, that day, after spending the night with a Frenchman (first in his house, then in a club and finally again in the house of man), they disappeared into thin air. After 105 days of silence, Human Rights Watch claims that "while no armed Islamist group has taken responsibility for their kidnapping, they are believed to have been kidnapped and later taken to Mali."

After the capture, the hijackers would have crossed the western border of Burkina Faso and taken the tourist couple with them. The reconstruction was published by the non-governmental organization on 13 January. In de file, this reconstruction is attributed to "sources of security from Mali."

For some time now, Mali has been facing the advance of jihadist organisations such as "Ansar Dine", a fundamentalist group fighting for the establishment of a shariah state. Also the Farnesina [ Italian Foreign Office ] supports that this is dangerous territory, and advises the Italians not to enter the country: "In light of the high terrorist risk and of an overall extremely critical and evolving security framework, all of Mali, including the capital Bamako, is to be considered at risk, which becomes extremely high in the northern regions of the Country," including that of Mopti, not far from the border with Burkina Faso and just seven hours by car from Bobo Dioulasso.


BBM


There was a rumour at the beginning of january that Luca and Edith wanted to visit the nature reserve of Sindou and that they might have been kidnapped by a Jihadist group on the road from Banfora to Sindou ~ not so much on the road itself, but from a side road, these would be dangerous. Robert Guilloteau, their host, later denied that Luca and Edith had wanted to visit Sindou, they were heading for the mosque when they left his house.
Another rumour alleged that they had been seen at 50 kms from Ouagadougou, Northeast of Bobo Dioulasso, and yet another rumour claims that the abduction took place near Pama, on the border with Togo.

In the light of an abduction to Mali, the option near Pama becomes less likely, IMHO.

 

[Elainera]

Does somebody know in what kind of conditions they would likely be kept? Are they likely kept together? Do they get adequate food and medical care if needed?

I hope the Human Rights Watch is correct in their assessment!

 

[Catmommy]

So do I, so do I!

 

[zecats]

Burkina Faso, la Ong: «I sequestratori nascondono Luca Tacchetto ed Edith Blais in Mali»

Human Rights Watch: "The kidnappers hide Luca and Edith in Mali"

Information gathered by Human Rights Watch: "Confirmations from local security sources." The young Paduan architect and his Canadian friend have been missing since 15 December.



PADUA - "Kidnapped and taken to Mali". The last trail in the disappearance of the Paduan Luca Tacchetto and his Canadian friend Edith Blais, leads to West Africa. To support this, Human Rights Watch, the NGO created in 1978 to promote the defense of human rights and known above all for the accuracy of its files, that are characterized by a timely assessment of the facts. And it is in the last report, published in recent days, that HRW analyzed the (worrying) situation in Burkina Faso. HRW reconstructs the violence committed between April 2018 and February this year by Islamist groups (the report documents the deaths of 42 civilians) and denounces the atrocities that are attributed to government security forces, responsible for 115 summary executions of men and adolescents.

The report also deals with the kidnapping of the young man from Padua, who left his parents' house in Vigonza at the end of November for a long car journey that took him, together with his Canadian girlfriend, to France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali, until he reached Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city in Burkina Faso, on 15 December.
The couple were supposed to reach Togo, for work as volunteers in the construction of a village. Instead, that day, after spending the night with a Frenchman (first in his house, then in a club and finally again in the house of man), they disappeared into thin air. After 105 days of silence, Human Rights Watch claims that "while no armed Islamist group has taken responsibility for their kidnapping, they are believed to have been kidnapped and later taken to Mali."

After the capture, the hijackers would have crossed the western border of Burkina Faso and taken the tourist couple with them. The reconstruction was published by the non-governmental organization on 13 January. In de file, this reconstruction is attributed to "sources of security from Mali."

For some time now, Mali has been facing the advance of jihadist organisations such as "Ansar Dine", a fundamentalist group fighting for the establishment of a shariah state. Also the Farnesina [ Italian Foreign Office ] supports that this is dangerous territory, and advises the Italians not to enter the country: "In light of the high terrorist risk and of an overall extremely critical and evolving security framework, all of Mali, including the capital Bamako, is to be considered at risk, which becomes extremely high in the northern regions of the Country," including that of Mopti, not far from the border with Burkina Faso and just seven hours by car from Bobo Dioulasso.


BBM


There was a rumour at the beginning of january that Luca and Edith wanted to visit the nature reserve of Sindou and that they might have been kidnapped by a Jihadist group on the road from Banfora to Sindou ~ not so much on the road itself, but from a side road, these would be dangerous. Robert Guilloteau, their host, later denied that Luca and Edith had wanted to visit Sindou, they were heading for the mosque when they left his house.
Another rumour alleged that they had been seen at 50 kms from Ouagadougou, Northeast of Bobo Dioulasso, and yet another rumour claims that the abduction took place near Pama, on the border with Togo.

In the light of an abduction to Mali, the option near Pama becomes less likely, IMHO.

Here is irony in this - that they drove (safely) through Mali, and after most likely being kidnapped may have been taken to Mali.

 

[dotr]

Que. woman missing in West Africa was kidnapped, taken to Mali: HRW
March 30, 2019 8:32PM EDT
"In a January statement, Burkina Faso's government referred to the pair's disappearance as a kidnapping.

The Canadian government did not confirm the information, but said it was not ruling out any possibilities.

However, a recent report by Human Rights Watch indicates that they were indeed abducted.

“While no armed Islamist group has taken responsibility for their abduction, they are believed to have been kidnapped and later taken to Mali,” the reported, titled “Abuses by Armed Islamist Groups in Burkina Faso's Sahel Region,” states. It cites an interview with Malian security sources on Jan. 13.

The report, published March 22 on the organization's website, does not mention the fate of the two travellers."

 

[ZaZara]

Does somebody know in what kind of conditions they would likely be kept? Are they likely kept together? Do they get adequate food and medical care if needed?

I hope the Human Rights Watch is correct in their assessment!

'Kidnapped for ransom' is the best possible option under the circumstances. All alternatives are worse.

Borgen project on Mali (2017):
https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-mali/

As the 12th poorest country in Africa, Mali has remained poverty-stricken for many years. Malnutrition issues, lack of education and conflict are the main causes of poverty in Mali.

The average wage in Mali is $1.25 per day, and more than half of the population currently lives below the international poverty line. This contributes to Mali being one of the least developed countries in the world. The average life expectancy of adults in Mali is 55, due to malnutrition and the lack of access to clean water.


Mali is mostly self-sufficient in the food market. Many people work on farms in order to grow crops to provide for their families and communities. Mali faces many issues involving its climate and landscape. Two-thirds of Mali is desert, meaning that immediately, droughts become a serious issue. With poor soils, millions find it difficult to grow the crops they need and due to low wages, they are unable to buy what their family demands. As a result, malnutrition becomes a leading issue and is the main factor of poverty in Mali.

Fill in the dots. If Luca and Edith have 'room service', it won't be up to the usual standards. Possibly, they are kept in a village in the desert with little to eat and nowhere to go.

Here is irony in this - that they drove (safely) through Mali, and after most likely being kidnapped may have been taken to Mali.

Hmm ... I wonder if they were that safe in Mali. They may have been spotted there already, it would have been hard to miss them anyway, and targeted as they went along. IMHO their abduction did not happen out of the blue.

 

[ZaZara]

LUCA ED EDITH, MINISTRO: «SIAMO FIDUCIOSI»

The most recent lead says they're in Mali, taken there after the kidnapping. A new hypothesis, formulated by the NGO Human Rights Watch, committed to the civil rights field as always, makes its way into the case of Luca Tacchetto and Edith Blais, the young couple who disappeared into thin air last December in Burkina Faso. The non-governmental organization names the young son of the former mayor of Vigonza and his Canadian friend in a dossier dedicated to the tensions in a region of Burkina Faso. "While no armed Islamist group has taken responsibility for their kidnapping, they are believed to have been kidnapped and subsequently taken to Mali," says the NGO's report, which cites sources of Malian security.
(...)
Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi also spoke about the disappearance of the couple, so the Farnesina [Foreign Office] doesn't turn a blind eye, but gives us hope for a happy ending thanks to the work of the '007' Italian forces. The hypothesis of the kidnapping remains the most probable, already in January there was talk of a jihadist kidnapping and the Prosecutor's Office of Rome has opened a file.


BBM


In the video (not in the text) the FM says that there is no recent news of them, but we keep great hope for a happy ending.

 

[zecats]

I keep hoping to hear news that negotiations have started, that the ball is rolling to attempt to get them released, and, at least provide news of their status. Their parents must be in agony waiting to hear something. And, how terrifying it must be for the Edith and Luca as well.

 

[ZaZara]

L'annuncio di Conte: "Liberato in Siria Sergio Zanotti, rapito tre anni fa"

PM Conte's announcement: "Freed in Syria Sergio Zanotti, who was kidnapped three years ago"

The Italian entrepreneur had disappeared in 2016 during a trip to Turkey close to the Syrian border. He had appeared in two videos. The premier: "He's in good shape, he'll be in Rome soon".

"At the end of a complex and delicate activity of intelligence, investigative and diplomatic efforts, carried out in a synchronized manner, today we have succeeded in obtaining the liberation of Sergio Zanotti, who was kidnapped in Syria in April 2016." The announcement of Premier Giuseppe Conte arrived in the late afternoon. "Our fellow countryman - Conte continued - appears in good general conditions and will return in a few hours to Italy, to Rome. A further success of our institutions and, in particular, of Aise: to them my most sincere and heartfelt thanks."

According to the former wife of the entrepreneur, the man left for Turkey in April 2016, in an area close to the Syrian border. From there his tracks were lost, to the point that his family was forced to report his disappearance. "I am happy. But I don't know anything more. Now I'm waiting for him," said the sister of Zanotti at the announcement of the liberation of her brother: "I'm overjoyed!" she commented in tears.

From the moment the news of his disappearance broke, the Crisis Unit of the Farnesina was immediately activated in coordination with the Intelligence and Security Agencies, the Ros of the Carabinieri and the judicial authority. In all these years, the Crisis Unit has maintained regular contacts with the family in Italy.

In May 2017, the Italian entrepreneur had appeared in a short video released by the kidnappers. Sergio Zanotti, the 59-year-old Brescian businessman, was already considered kidnapped in Syria by groups linked to al Qaeda. Zanotti, with a long beard and a blue t-shirt, appeared on his knees in a bare room: "Today is the first of May. My name is Zanotti Sergio. This is the second call they let me make," he said. Behind him are two men with covered faces, dressed in black and holding a rifle.


With Zanotti's liberation there remain at least four Italians of whom there is no news. They are Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, the Jesuit kidnapped on 29 July 2013 while he was in Raqqa; Luca Tacchetto, 30 years old from Vigonza, who disappeared in Burkina Faso on 15 December 2018 together with his Canadian friend Edith Blais; volunteer Silvia Romano, kidnapped by an armed commando in a Kenyan village last November and Father Pier Luigi Maccalli, priest of the Society for African Missions (SMA) kidnapped in Niger.


BBM


Three years of hard work in the utmost secrecy. The government in Rome deliberately maintained a radio silence to increase the chances of release.

IMHO we will be on this thread with no news of Luca and Edith for quite a while.

 

[Elainera]

Wow that's great news! I hope one day we can post the same about Edith and Luca.

 

[ZaZara]

Luca Tacchetto ed Edith Biais, il governo del Burkina Faso: sono vivi, si trovano in Mali

Government of Burkina Faso: Luca Tacchetto and Edith Blais are alive, they are in Mali

Minister Dandjinou's interview rekindles the hope for the Paduan architect who disappeared in December

PADOVA Edith and Luca are alive. Rémis Dandjinou. Minister of Burkina Faso, rekindles the hopes for the fate of the Paduan architect Luca Tacchetto and his Canadian friend Edith Biais, who disappeared in December while they were crossing the African country in the car in which they had left the Veneto region a month earlier. On Rainews the journalist Andrea de Giorgio recorded the voice of the government spokesman, who also spoke about the fate of Pier Luigi Maccalli, the Cremonese missionary kidnapped in Niger in September. Edith and Luca would now be in Mali.
"Finding them is an assured priority."



RAInews:
Esclusiva. Governo Burkina: vivi padre Maccalli e Luca Tacchetto

Exclusive. Burkina government: Father Maccalli and Luca Tacchetto are alive.
The two Italians who disappeared in West Africa are alive. The spokesman for the Burkina Faso government tells this to Rainews24 exclusively. The cases are those of Pier Luigi Maccalli, the Cremonese missionary kidnapped in Niger in September, and Luca Tacchetto, the Paduan engineer who disappeared in December in Burkina Faso with his Canadian travel companion Edith Blais. Maccalli, Minister Rémis Dandjinou reveals, was first taken to Burkina and then back to Niger. Tacchetto would be outside Burkina Faso: probably in Mali, he hypothesized the minister with the cameras off. Finding them is a priority, he assures.


BBM


The interview is much longer, see video if you like to listen to someone speaking French with an Italian voice-over.

Luca and Edith would alive and not be in mortal danger.

 

[ZaZara]

L’annuncio dal Burkina Faso: Luca Tacchetto ed Edith Bias sono vivi


Burkina Faso Gov't: Luca Tacchetto and Edith Blais are alive

Minister of Communication Rèmis Dandjinou reveals details of the kidnapping: "They are no longer in the country, we must locate them and bring them back safely to their loved ones."


VIGONZA. Luca and Edith are "certainly alive" and the source is an authority, the Minister of Communication of Burkina Faso. Not only that. . . In addition to Luca Tacchetto, also the other Italian who disappeared in West Africa, is alive, namely Pier Luigi Maccalli, the missionary from Cremona kidnapped in Niger in September.

Luca Tacchetto, we remember, is the engineer from Vigonza who disappeared in December in Burkina Faso with his Canadian travel companion, Edith Blais: the spokesman for the government of Burkina Faso Rèmis Dandjinou told Rainews24 yesterday. According to him, Di Maccalli was taken first to Burkina and then back to Niger.

Luca Tacchetto, on the other hand, would be outside Burkina Faso: probably in Mali, the minister hypothesized with the cameras off.
"We deplore these kidnappings," remarked the minister. "The priest kidnapped in Niger was brought to our country at a certain point, but then they all left again."
As for Tacchetto and Edith "the intelligence shows that they are no longer on our territory."

"These evidences need to be perfected, but we're sure that their lives are not in danger," the minister insisted. "These people are still alive and we hope that our collaboration with the various protagonists will allow us to locate them and bring them back safe and sound to their loved ones."

"The important thing is that there was no murder, because if there had been, we would have found the bodies," he continued.

The minister assured us that the government is working "to get them home safe and sound" and that it considers their release a priority. "For us they are of particular importance because they are people who give their lives, their time, their energy to develop our country. The least we can do is ensure their safety and make sure they can go home."

Dandjinou recalled that Italy and Burkina Faso have just "renewed their diplomatic relations".

"It is important for us to ensure their security so that cooperation can develop in excellent conditions. Finding these men and women is a priority for the Foreign Ministry but also for the Security and Defence Departments."

Luca Tacchetto, a 30-year-old architect from Vigonza, and his Canadian friend Edith Blais, disappeared on the evening of 15 December in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. They had been hosted by Robert Guilloteau, a French man they had met on the border with Mali, with whom they had been dining out that night. The last video sent by Luca to his parents, Nunzio Tacchetto, former mayor of Vigonza, and his wife Rosanna, dates back to that very evening. From that moment on, nothing has been known about the couple.

And that something is unfolding in the saga comes indirectly from the active presence last night in the city council in Vigonza of Nunzio Tacchettto, president of the assembly, who had always been absent since the beginning of the disappearance of his son.

He appeared relaxed, directed the work and even managed a smile.


BBM

 

[Catmommy]

Date and time stamped pictures or video of the missing would reassure me much more than diplomatic statements made by a someone paid to make diplomatic statements. Especially this one:

"The important thing is that there was no murder, because if there had been, we would have found the bodies,"

okaaaaaaaaaaay. I pray that's true.