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

[Cryptic]

It is a shame what has happened and continues to occur in West Africa. I have travelled to Togo, Mali and Burkina Faso as a tourist. Of course, it was quite some time ago when the world was a much different place. And, even then, friends thought I was crazy. However, I have fond memories of the wonderful and generous West Africans. People who don't have much but would give you the shirts off their backs..

Your post brings back fond memories for me as well.

I remember walking though Muslim majority urban areas and being warmly greeted. I had no apprehension what so ever-and that was immediately after 9-11. The one time that I was approached an "angry" Muslim involved a man who was obviously deranged. Other Muslim vendors shooed him off. Day trips into rural Guinea were no problem.

I cant remember how many taxi cab drivers I saw sporting Islamic prayer beads from the mirror and "Go USA Power" bumper stickers. Al Queda was considered to be "Arab" and local Muslims did not have fond memories of Arabs. One Muslim cab driver warmed up when he realized I was westerner and presumably American- not Lebanese. The next cab driver would have a dangling rosary and be playing French dubbed country western music.

 

[ZaZara]

Charles Lister
@Charles_Lister
Senior Fellow & Director of @MEI_CTE at @MiddleEastInst. Author of #TheSyrianJihad. Following #Syria, armed groups, #Idlib, #AQ & #ISIS

https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1131200896774410241&ref_url=https://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2019/05/22/news/siria_liberato_a_idlib_l_italiano_alessandro_sandrini_era_stato_rapito_nel_2016-226915426/

BREAKING - In a press conference, the #HTS-linked Salvation Government in #Idlib, #Syria has announced it has rescued/freed a hostage from #Italy, Allesandro Sandrini, from a criminal gang. He was kidnapped nearly 3yrs ago.


Siria, liberato a Idlib l'italiano Alessandro Sandrini: "Mi sono perso e qualcuno mi ha drogato"

The liberation of the Italian hostage in Syria was made possible thanks to negotiations between the militiamen of the Qaeda galaxy, who claim the credit for the liberation, and a "gang of criminals" from the Idlib area, outside government control. This is reported in a statement by the self-styled Ministry of the Interior of the Government of National Salvation, the political arm of Hayat Tahrir Sham. The communiqué does not refer to the payment of a possible ransom. It is stated that Sandrini was handed over to the "government of his country" without mentioning any possible Turkish role in the affair.

Alessandro Sandrini is subject to a custody order for robbery. The Brescian is accused of a couple of actions carried out with an accomplice in the province of Brescia. The prison was ordered, but the measure now should be that of house arrest.

"Alessandro Sandrini, a fellow countryman, was freed at the end of an elaborate activity carried out, in foreign territory, in a coordinated and synergic manner by the Italian Intelligence, the Judicial Police and the crisis unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." This was stated by the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, in a letter.

With the liberation of Alessandro, there are still seven Italians who have disappeared in the world.

Father Paolo Dall'Oglio: there is no news of him since July 29, 2013, when he was kidnapped in the area of Raqqa, Syria, where he was supposed to meet a member of the Isis to negotiate the release of a prisoner.

Silvia Romano: a young Italian aid worker kidnapped last November 20 in the village of Chakama, where she was working for Africa Milele Onlus.

Luca Tacchetto: disappeared in Burkina Faso with his Canadian friend, Edith Blais. There has been no news of the two since 15 December last.

Father Luigi Maccalli: a member of the Society of African Missions (SMA), was kidnapped in Niger on September 18, 2018 by alleged jihadists active in the area. Originally from the diocese of Crema, already a missionary in Côte d'Ivoire for several years, Father Maccalli was in the parish of Bomoanga, diocese of Niamey.

Raffaele Russo, 60 years old, his son Antonio, 25 years old, and his nephew, Vincenzo Cimmino, 29 years old: the three Neapolitans disappeared after being stopped by the police at a service station in Tecalitlan, in the Mexican State of Jalisco on 31 January 2018.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Silvia Romano, Africa ExPress lancia una raccolta fondi per indagare - Africa Express: notizie dal continente dimenticato

For over five years Africa ExPress has been appearing on your computers with news that few others in our country spread. And even the few ones published in the big newspapers are treated by us in a different way, often more in-depth or seen from a different angle and / or unusual.

This is the case of the tragic story of Silvia Romano. A story that needs to be investigated and written about only when you have certain and verified news. To keep the attention high you can not invent non-existent information and info that isn't checked carefully.

It has now been ascertained that the kidnapping of the young Milanese volunteer has no terrorist motives and this raises other disturbing hypotheses that it would be necessary to verify on the ground.

Unfortunately, what we have written so far is not much. A lot of information circulates on the web, often unverified. What we have tried to ascertain has proved to be false. Then there have been diversions and loopholes: the first worry those who want to seek the truth, the second show how there is no limit to human misery.

To make a good journalism you need to invest resources and we are an authoritative and professional daily but unfortunately with more than limited resources.

Our desire to investigate the case of Silvia Romano, where we have realized in addition to the false leads, there are unfounded silences and false news, probably spread by design, requires us to start a serious investigation journalism. For this we need funding and we appeal to our readers.

Help us to deepen and find the heart of the matter of this painful story. We ask for your help: if you think it's worth it, give us a hand by donating what you can to the following bank account.

[ bank details at link ]

If we don't get enough money to send one of our teams to East Africa, we will return the money we collected to you. If we can get the necessary budget, you can read the results of our survey on Africa ExPress. We are counting on you.

But in addition to Silvia Romano, let's not forget Father Pierluigi Maccalli, kidnapped in Niger in September 2018, and Luca Tacchetto and his partner Edith Blais, kidnapped last December in Burkina Faso. Also to work on these cases we intend to open a fundraiser. We want to count on our readers. Thank you.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

U.N. Says At Least 95 People Killed In Attack On Mali Village

The United Nations says at least 95 people were killed in an armed attack on a village in central Mali. It's the latest in a spate of deadly attacks in the region, which has seen escalating tensions between ethnic groups.

The attack on the village of Sobanou-Kou started Sunday evening when a group of armed men poured into the village, according to a statement from the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA.

In the past few months, international observers have sounded the alarm over hundreds of civilians killed in ethnic attacks between the Dogon community, who are farmers and hunters, and the Fulani, or Peuhl, community, who are herders.

Sobanou-Kou is made up of people from the Dogon community. "Local officials blame Fulani-Peulh herdsmen for the attack and say it's difficult to identify badly burned bodies and that many in the village of 300 are yet to be accounted for," NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reported.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

LUCA ED EDITH ANCORA VIVI, SECONDO IL CANADA

LUCA AND EDITH STILL ALIVE, ACCORDING TO CANADA



What happened to Luca Tacchetto, a 30-year-old architect from Vigonza, the son of former mayor Nunzio and his girlfriend Edith Blais, a 34-year-old Canadian? According to the government of Burkina Faso, the country in West Africa where they disappeared in mid-December 2018, the two are alive. This was reported to Edith's mother, Jocelyne, by the Canadian government. But there is no other information. Apart from the fact that many people say that the two young people, who were going to Burkina to support a project to build a health centre, were brought to Mali and that they are alive. In Vigonza, at the home of former mayor Nunzio Tacchetto, they expect good news from Rome, where contacts with the crisis unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are constant. Tacchetto shares his measured words with the press: let the experts tell us. Thus, the secret services would be working on the case.

BBM


It's been six months since they went missing.

Looking back at the romantic pictures that EB posted of their trip through Africa, this almost seems a different age and planet. We've been collecting attacks, kidnappings and murders since.

 

[ZaZara]

Burkina Faso : 17 personnes tuées dans une attaque jihadiste


Seventeen people were killed on Tuesday night in a jihadist attack in Belehédé, a locality located in Soum province in northern Burkina Faso, Minister of Defence Chériff Sy announced Wednesday.

"On the night of 18-19 June, an armed terrorist group carried out an attack against the civilian population in the village of Béléhédé. This attack has caused 17 deaths," the minister wrote in a statement. He called on the population to "be vigilant and report any suspicious cases".

Burkina Faso, and particularly the border region of Mali and Niger, has been the scene of regular jihadist attacks over the past four years, killing more than 420 people, according to an AFP survey.

Since the beginning of 2019, the Soum province in the Sahel region has been facing an upsurge in armed attacks, combined with inter-community conflicts, often fuelled by jihadist violence.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L’ex sindaco Tacchetto: «Il rapimento di Luca una prova impensabile. La mia vita si è fermata»

Former Mayor Tacchetto: "The kidnapping of Luca is an unimaginable hardship. My life has stopped"

In a letter on the municipal news he writes about the future and hope, and returns to talk about his son, kidnapped in Burkina in December, after more than six months of silence.

21 July 2019

"My life has stopped: an anguish that cannot be described; then, the support and closeness of an enormous number of people and of the institutions of the State have restarted us, with hope, courage, determination and trust." The former mayor of Vigonza, Nunzio Tacchetto, the father of Luca, the young architect who disappeared in Burkina in mid-December, breaks the silence and in the municipal news he returns to talk about his son. For the first time, six months after the kidnapping in the African country where his son was traveling with a friend, he thinks about the future. It is he, the parent who lives in the suspended condition, in the impossible wait to know what has become of his dearest treasure. From Burkina there is nothing new so far about the fate of the young man and his travelling companion. The Farnesina continues to keep the strictest confidentiality about this. Yet Tacchetto has managed to have the strength to address his fellow citizens with a political letter (dedicated to his Luca), despite the heaviness of his father's heart. A father with the courage of hope.

The future comes before the past, Tacchetto writes, in the letter.

"This statement by a dear friend made me reflect: I share the idea, I recognize it in many facets of life, mine and each of us, and it is necessary that even in politics it be applied and brought to fruition with determination. The application of this paradoxical evidence is more real than we think. Choices and decisions that we make today, we make them (so I think) looking forward, to what we would like to see achieved. It is therefore our future that is guiding and anticipating the history that we will write." A choice that defines "politics, even morality, are made looking to the future, and they question us about what we would like to be. Young people should still "be endowed with this tension and propensity for the future."

The world and political life that will come, are born from the ability to see forward and act today, inspired by the future. When the farmer sows seeds he does not know what the sky will reserve for the seed sown. But he knows that if he does not sow, he will not harvest.

"I never expected in December 2018 - he says - not to be able to write my thoughts on the municipal news. The future reserved for us an unthinkable test: Luca, beloved son, on a leisure and business trip, kidnapped in Burkina Faso. We sent tools and equipment for cultivation to that very poor African country a few years ago for concrete help. My life stopped: an anguish that could not be described; then, the support and the closeness of a huge number of people and the institutions of the State restarted us, with hope, courage, determination and trust. A contradiction of initial thinking? It is not. On 25 April last, the feast of Liberation, I listened to the testimonies of four regular "refugees" who work here with us in Italy. You Africans - I asked them - who have made yourselves independent from the English and French, how do you say freedom? "Freedom, Freedom..." Yes, but, again, I was asking, in your language? "Liberty, Freedom..." Including? Also deprived of the idiom. And the very poor Burkina? Recently in that country they opened the fourteenth gold mine; yes, but only 10% of the proceeds go to the Africans and 90% to foreign companies. Can the future improve the past? I'm convinced of that. I think I can still go down the road of the future starting from my experiences of administrative life, a modest baggage made up, however, of many things that can help to discover the fundamental elements of our common life. The risk of wanting the immediate is great and can cloud the long view. On the other hand, distrust and indifference do not give us a basis for our tomorrow. Then I think about the future living the present with clear determination. I think, therefor I am."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Un anno fa in Niger il sequestro di padre Maccalli, nessuna notizia certa su suo destino – Articolo21

A year since the kidnapping of Father Maccali in Niger without any reliable information about his fate


The break-in at dawn in the simple house attached to the mission of Bamoanga, in Niger, 125 km from the capital Niamey. In action are most likely Islamists shepherds of Fulani ethnicity from Mali who had camped for months in a village 40 km from the mission. Father Pierluigi Maccalli, 58 years old, originally from Crema, a missionary of the Society of African Missions, was dragged away by force.

All this happened just a year ago, on September 17, 2018. Since then, there has been no reliable information about his fate.

Maccalli was swallowed up by the black hole in which also disappeared Silvia Romano (kidnapped in Kenya on November 20, 2018), and the Paduan engineer Luca Tacchetto togetjer with his Canadian girlfriend Edith Blais, who were kidnapped on December 15 in Burkina Faso.

Father Maccalli was serene: his faithful had informed him of the presence of the Jahidists not far from the mission. But his 12 years of work in Niger spent in the educational and health fields (of which the Islamic community had benefited greatly) reassured him. Perhaps it was precisely his commitment on the school front that was seen as a challenge by the terrorists who carried out the kidnapping. The immediate effect was the closure of the school founded by the missionary.

Last April the spokesman for the government of Burkina Faso declared that Father Pierluigi was alive. He would have been taken first to Burkina and then brought back by the kidnappers to Niger. On the same occasion he said that Luca Tacchetto and Edith Blais would be held prisoners in Niger. These statements were not confirmed and they were accepted with scepticism by both the family and the religious congregation.

Today it is perhaps darker than yesterday for all the Italian abductees of whom nothing is known after so many months. Officially for none of them there is proof of life, ransom demands or exchanges of prisoners. And this feeds everyone's anguish infinitely.



BBM

 

[dotr]

Prime Minister of Burkina Faso has resigned from office along with his entire cabinet
September 18, 2019 rbbm.
"Mr Thieba, a former economist, had held the position since January 2016 when he was nominated by President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

His government has faced growing pressure over a rise in the number of kidnappings and jihadist attacks.

Recent high-profile disappearances of foreign nationals have led to direct calls for Mr Thieba’s resignation, as well as that of his defence and security ministers."

A 34-year-old Canadian woman, Edith Blais, and an Italian man, Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing in the country since mid-December.

"The pair were travelling to Togo to work with an aid group when they disappeared."

 

[ZaZara]

Il Canada rompe il silenzio: «Edith viva, caso difficile». Si torna a sperare per Luca


PADOVA Luca Tacchetto from Padova and his Canadian girlfriend Edith Blais are still alive. After five months of absolute silence on the part of the institutions, Canada's Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, is rekindling hope. In recent days - in the middle of the election campaign - the representative of the Liberal Party has visited Sherbrooke, the city where the 34-year-old woman grew up. In December last year this woman went missing while she was driving through Burkina Faso with her friend from Vigonza.

The most accredited hypothesis is that of an abduction by the jihadist group Katiba Macina, who would have transferred the couple to Mali. The Rome Public Prosecutor's Office investigates for kidnapping for terrorist purposes and in April, the Minister of Communication of Burkina, Rémis Dandjinou, had assured us: "They are all alive, all that remains is to work to bring them home." On Wednesday the Canadian minister agreed to answer some questions about the case. And her words give hope: to those who asked her if Edith was still alive, Chrystia Freeland assured them: "The situation has not changed". Then she added that "it's a very complicated situation, the most important thing for us is Edith's safety and health. I can't go into details: there are things we know but we can't share because they are confidential information and we don't want to say things that could put Edith in danger.

The positive note is that if the Canadian government has had reassurances about the health of the woman, there is no reason to think that the same does not apply to the thirty-year-old architect from Padua. Minister Freeland assures us that she has followed closely the case of the disappearance of the two young people and that she has discussed it "sometimes" directly with the outgoing Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. "This affair concerns me - she explains - I discuss it with Marie-Claude (Bibeau, another Canadian minister, ed). I want to stress the importance of this case for me. Our diplomats are very involved and we have also discussed the situation with Italy." Freeland assures us that she is in contact with Edith's family: "It is impossible to really understand how difficult it is for them. But I want to underline the respect I have for them. The whole community of Sherbrooke strongly supports the family and this is important: it is a great pain for the family, but also for all of us."

On the Italian front, on the other hand, the Farnesina continues with the line of absolute secrecy that has always characterized the work of our officials in charge of investigating the disappearance of fellow countrymen abroad. What is known is that also the Italian intelligence has never stopped investigating the fate of the young architect, who left with his friend from his father's house on November 20th for a long car journey that took them to cross France and Spain, before arriving in Africa and driving through Morocco, Mauritania and Mali. On 15 December, they entered Burkina Faso and spent the evening with Robert Guilloteau, a Frenchman who lives in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso: first for dinner, then in a club, where they attended a concert. "After leaving the club we went back to sleep at my house. They left the following morning, it must have been 10.30 more or less", Guilloteau told Corriere del Veneto. "They were headed to the mosque, not far from my house. They told me that, after the visit, they would go to Ouagadougou, the capital. They had to go to the immigration office to obtain a valid visa for Togo and Benin...". No one has seen them since.


BBM

 

[Catmommy]

Hoping they are ransomed/freed/recovered soon now.

 

[ZaZara]

I misteri che avvolgono il rapimento di Luca Tacchetto e il silenzio della Farnesina - Africa Express: notizie dal continente dimenticato

One year ago, exactly one year ago, Italian Luca Tacchetto and his Canadian companion, Edith Blais, were seen for the last time. They were leaving from Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and were on their way to Togo. They said goodbye to their French friend, Robert Guilloteau, in whose house they had spent the night and headed for the border. From this moment on they disappeared into thin air. No news, no clues. Nothing leaked out. The Farnesina, as always in these cases, demanded absolute secrecy, to which the relatives strictly adhered. A secrecy that leaves us perplexed in the light of the misinformation, the false news, the lack of investigations or the press harassment with which they were conducted in the case of another Italian hostage, this time kidnapped in Kenya, Silvia Romano.

The only certain news came out at the beginning of October through the Canadian Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland. During an election rally she announced: "Edith is alive but the investigation is very complicated and therefore it is appropriate not to give news and details that could damage the life of the hostage". It was election time in Canada and as you know, politicians are often not the most honest people during elections. We should not be surprised if it turns out that the matter has been used in an instrumental way. The minister was talking about Edith but it is logical to think that the news also concerned Luca.

It is not certain, but it is probable that Luca and Edith were taken hostage by a gang of criminals. In those parts jihadism and delinquency go hand in hand.

The western zone of the Sahel, for some time now, has been infested by Islamists of various kinds (with links to Al Qaeda or ISIS) and marauders who, with the economic crisis, have become more and more aggressive.

Luca and Edith had left by car from Veneto and after leaving Europe had passed through Morocco and Mauritania. They entered Mali and passed through Burkina Faso. Probably someone saw them, followed them, monitored them and then captured them.

On December 18, 2009, in Mauritania, right on the border with Mali, an Italian couple riding on horseback were kidnapped by marauders who were also on their way to Burkina in a minibus. Nothing more was known about Sergio Cicala and his wife, Philomen Kabouree, for about ten days.

Then, on the 28th December, the kidnapping was claimed by Al Qaeda for the Islamic Maghreb. They were released the following April 16.

Once released they disappeared from the news but a couple of years later, in an interview in Ouagadougou, Sergio Cicala told me that after a few days in captivity, the kidnappers, simple criminals, had handed them over to the Islamists.

The fundamentalist groups active in the Sahel, operate in two areas: political and criminal. The latter, to finance terrorism, concerns not only the kidnapping of Westerners for ransom, but also drug trafficking. In November 2009, a Colombian Boing Cargo 737 from Venezuela loaded with cocaine landed on the sand in Mali. Once unloaded, the plane had been set on fire because it could never leave again. The value of the cargo was enormously higher than that of the old jet.

According to confidential information that could not be verified in the field however, the Italians entrusted the negotiations for the liberation of Luca and Edith to an elderly chief of the Babariché tribe, Baba Olud Choueckh. It was he who, at the time, had negotiated the liberation of the Cicada.


BBM

 

[Satchie]

It was election time in Canada and as you know, politicians are often not the most honest people during elections. We should not be surprised if it turns out that the matter has been used in an instrumental way.

Italy has a long history of corrupt and deceitful politicians, so I can understand Italian suspicions. However, I cannot believe Chrystia Freeland would ever lie about someone in a dire case like this, or to Edith's parents.

 

[ZaZara]

Italy has a long history of corrupt and deceitful politicians, so I can understand Italian suspicions. However, I cannot believe Chrystia Freeland would ever lie about someone in a dire case like this, or to Edith's parents.

There is a fine line between telling a lie and not telling all of the truth. IMO what Chrystia Freeland said was so vague that it can never be held against her, whatever the outcome.

 

[Catmommy]

But still no proof of life as far as we know of. And no request for ransom either.

 

[DutchSleuth]

They are said to be released: Canadian and Italian Hostages Are Said to Be Freed in Mali After 15 Months

 

[TatianaBarbie]

They are said to be released: Canadian and Italian Hostages Are Said to Be Freed in Mali After 15 Months

Wow--I didn't expect this wonderful news! Although, until they are able to return to their families, the situation might still be unstable. I will hope for the best!

 

[LovesPeace2]

Wow holy crap they are safe just saw on CTV news they are in UN clothing such great news

 

[muggles63]

Wow holy crap they are safe just saw on CTV news they are in UN clothing such great news

Brilliant news, in terrible times

 

[swedeheart]

They are said to be released: Canadian and Italian Hostages Are Said to Be Freed in Mali After 15 Months

woah! that's awesome! didn't see that coming. brilliant news.