Paris, April 28, 2019 (AFP) – The son of an elderly French woman abducted in Mali has accused Paris of refusing to talk to her abductors, in comments published Sunday that were disputed by French authorities. Armed jihadists abducted Sophie Petronin on December 24, 2016, in Gao, northern Mali, where she ran a charity helping orphans. Her son, Sebastien Chadaud-Petronin, told the Sunday newspaper Journal Du Dimanche that French officials had rejected an offer from the abductors, which he had received when he visited Mali in December. “The son of Madame Petronin has received unprecedented support from the French authorities” who had paid for his eight trips to the Sahel region, the source added. No group claimed responsibility for her abduction until July 2017, when Al-Qaeda’s Mali branch released a video showing her.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 28, 2019 16:52 UTC