2023-11-27 08:19:33
A Catholic priest of German nationality, Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, who disappeared in November 2022 in Mali and considered kidnapped, has been released, two officials from the archdiocese and the government said on Sunday, November 26.
Other hostages
Nicknamed “Ha-Jo”, the German priest, member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, known as the White Fathers, had lived in Mali for around thirty years. He taught in the Malian capital at the Islamic-Christian Training Institute, which receives students from Africa. He was also national secretary of an interreligious dialogue commission.
This is the second German released in less than a year in the Sahel, after the release in December 2022 of German humanitarian Jörg Lange, kidnapped on April 11, 2018 in western Niger, a region bordering Mali plagued by jihadist acts.
Read also: The leader of the putschists in Niger makes his first trip abroad to his peers in Mali and Burkina Faso
Several foreign hostages, including a South African and an Italian couple and their son, remain detained in the Sahel. It is impossible to know exactly how many people are being held prisoner, only the cases made public by their entourage or their government are known.
Since 2012, Mali has been plagued by the spread of jihadism and violence of all kinds, including kidnappings of foreigners and Malians. The motivations, ideological or villainous, range from the demand for ransom to the act of reprisal through the desire to bargain.
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