BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A World Health Organization employee has been kidnapped by unidentified assailants in northern Mali, the UN agency’s director-general said Tuesday.
Dr. Mahamadou Diawara was kidnapped from his car in the city of Menaka on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
“Healthcare workers should never be targeted,” Tedros said.
WHO is working with authorities to investigate the kidnapping.
The West African nation has been fighting a decade-long jihadist insurgency that has killed thousands. Jihadist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have used hostage-for-ransom holding as a way to finance operations and expand their presence.
Diawara has been working with the WHO in Menaka for three years, providing medical care to communities that are often remote and face security risks and violence, the UN said. The driver of his car was attacked but not kidnapped and is recovering.
The kidnapping comes two months after a German priest was kidnapped in Mali’s capital, Bamako. Reverend Hans-Joachim Lohre was kidnapped in November as he was preparing to celebrate mass.
There are multiple armed groups in the Menaka region, but Islamic State has a significant presence there, conflict analysts say.
“While it is not clear if the group is responsible for the kidnapping, there should be concerns that they will transfer it to the group in exchange for money,” said Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a think tank with headquarters in Morocco. tank focused on economic and social policies.
