It is a video of about twenty seconds which confirms the worst.
Journalist Olivier Dubois is being held hostage by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
He confirms on these images that he is in the hands of the GSIM "in Gao since April 8, 2021".
He also addresses "[his] family, [his] friends and the French authorities to do everything in their power to have him released".
#Mali there is no longer any doubt about the status of colleague Olivier Dubois.
In a 21-second video, he confirms that he has been hostage "in the hands of the #GSIM [# JNIM / # AQMI] since April 8 at #Gao".
He calls family, friends & authorities for help.
#France has a new hostage in #Sahel.
pic.twitter.com/6Z290p3F23
- Wassim Nasr (@SimNasr) May 5, 2021
JNIM had released a video.
We now have confirmation that Olivier Dubois, a French journalist, was kidnapped on 8 April.
In the video (circulated relatively quickly after he was taken) Olivier appeals to the French government for his release.
pic.twitter.com/j1qmIYcGyh
- Aurelien Tobie (@aurelientobie) May 5, 2021
Olivier Dubois has been a correspondent for the weekly Le Point in Mali since 2015, he also works for Liberation. He was reporting in Gao but on April 8, he did not return to his hotel after lunch, reports on Twitter Christophe Deloire, the secretary general of Reporters Without Borders who speaks of a "seasoned journalist" who "" knew well this very dangerous region in the east of the country. He also explains that he had been informed two days after his disappearance but that "in consultation with the editorial staff who usually employ him, we have taken the decision not to make this hostage-taking public, so as not to hinder a possible rapid positive outcome ”.
Olivier Dubois was reporting in Gao in Mali.
On April 8, he did not return to his hotel after lunch.
This seasoned journalist who usually works for @LePointAfrique and @libe knew this very dangerous region in the east of the country well.
- Christophe Deloire (@cdeloire) May 5, 2021
The GSIM was born in 2017 from the aggregation of several jihadist groups under the authority of Iyad Ag Ghali, a charismatic Tuareg leader omnipresent in Mali since the early 90s, the GSIM has pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda.
Until becoming one of the most active subsidiaries.
It is this group which also claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Frenchwoman Sophie Pétronin.