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Market stall in Bamako in Mali: The priest's car was discovered in the city
Photo: Florent Vergnes / AFP
A German priest has been reported missing in West African Mali.
His car was found near an institute in the capital Bamako where he gives courses, a representative of the Bamako Bishops' Conference told the AFP news agency.
The priest, who has lived in the Sahel state for around 30 years, has disappeared since Sunday evening.
'He's missing.
Others say he was kidnapped," said the representative of the bishops' conference, who asked not to be named.
A friend of the Father said he was "very worried" about the German.
When asked, a police officer said that everything was being done to find the cleric.
Kidnappings of Christian clergy are not uncommon in Mali
The priest has lived in Mali for around 30 years.
He teaches at the Institute for Christian-Islamic Education in Bamako, which accepts students from Africa, and is committed to dialogue between religions.
The minister is in charge of a faith and encounter center in Bamako.
He firmly believes "that a peaceful coexistence of religions is possible," explained an employee of the facility.
In the past there have been repeated kidnappings of Christian clergy in Mali.
For around ten years, Islamist militias have been trying to turn the country into a staging area for jihadism.
Socially and ethnically charged conflicts exacerbate instability.
The Bundeswehr is involved with around 1,200 soldiers in the UN mission MINUSMA in the Sahel state.
The UN mission in May is currently the most dangerous foreign mission of the Bundeswehr.
Recently there had been considerations to withdraw the Bundeswehr from the crisis state.
France has already withdrawn its troops, Great Britain wants to follow suit.
ktz/afp