Three Italians kidnapped in southern Mali

21/5/2022 6:05

        Armed men kidnapped an Italian couple and their son in southern Mali overnight, their church said on Friday, as violence spreads in a country ravaged by an
        Islamist insurgency.
        
        A spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses church in neighbouring Senegal said the couple is in their 70s and their son is about 50. They were living in Mali for personal reasons and are not missionaries, he said.
        
        It was not immediately clear who took them, he said. Media outlets reported that a Togolese national was kidnapped along with the Italians, but the spokesman said he could not confirm that.
        
        Italy's foreign ministry said it would issue a statement shortly.
        
        Kidnappings have surged recently in Mali, as Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State expand their presence farther south from their strongholds in the north and centre.