German priest abducted in Mali’s capital in rare kidnapping

Suspected Islamic extremists have abducted a German priest in Mali’s capital, his colleagues said.

It marks the first kidnapping of a westerner in Bamako in over a decade.

Reverend Hans-Joachim Lohre was preparing to celebrate Mass in another part of the city on Sunday when he was kidnapped, said Dia Monique Pare, a colleague at the Institute of Islamic-Christian Training.

The car was not there after Mr Lohre was abducted.

Investigators later found the priest’s cross necklace, which had been cut off, next to his car, she said.

“The door of his car was open and there were footprints on the ground as though someone had been fighting,” Ms Pare added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the kidnapping of the German priest, who has been in Mali for over 30 years.

However, suspicion immediately fell on Islamic extremists, who have a history of abducting foreigners and holding them for ransom.

However, Mr Lohre’s kidnapping would mark the first time Islamic militants have abducted a foreigner in the capital of Bamako since their insurgency began over 10 years ago.

Other foreign religious figures have been held hostage but were abducted in remoter parts of the country.

An Italian missionary couple were kidnapped in southern Mali in May along with their young son and domestic helper.

In 2017, a Colombian nun was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Karangasso, about 17 miles from where the Italian family were taken.

Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez was released in 2021 after spending over four years in captivity.

A cardinal later said Pope Francis had authorised spending up to one million euros (£870,000) to free her.

It is not known how much, if any, Vatican money actually ended up in the hands of the extremists.

Ransom payments are rarely confirmed to dissuade future kidnappings.