Eurasia Press & News
At least 35 suspects have been arrested in 48 hours as the hunt intensifies for the killers of two French journalists shot dead in Mali’s rebel-infested north, sources in the west African nation said.
Ghislaine Dupont, 57, and Claude Verlon, 55, were kidnapped and killed by what French officials called “terrorist groups” after interviewing a spokesman for Tuareg separatists in the flashpoint northeastern town of Kidal on Saturday.
“A few dozen people have been arrested on Malian territory over 48 hours in the course of the investigation related to the murder of the two French journalists,” a source from the Kidal administration said.
A member of the Malian security forces confirmed the information, putting the number of people detained at “at least 35”.
News of the arrests came after the bodies of the Radio France Internationale (RFI) journalists arrived back in Paris, with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announcing that 150 French soldiers had been sent to join 200 troops already in Kidal.
He said however that France would stick to plans to withdraw two-thirds of the 3,000 soldiers it has in Mali by the end of January.
The Kidal government source described the arrests as an “encouraging” advance in the investigation.
“In the car abandoned not far from the crime scene, precious phone numbers were found. This is an important detail,” the source said, without revealing if the numbers had been linked to suspects.
