4 Europeans kidnapped in Mali
2009-01-23 14:11
Bern - A tour operator says four European tourists have been kidnapped by armed assailants in Mali.
The operator says two Swiss, a German woman and a British man were taken from their car by unknown persons near the border with Niger on Thursday.
The chief executive of German tour operator Oase Reisen told Swiss radio station DRS 4 News on Friday that three tourists travelling in a second vehicle were able to escape despite being fired on.
Werner Gartung says it is clearly a case of kidnapping rather than banditry.
Switzerland's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that two Swiss citizens are among the kidnapped. The German and British foreign ministries have said they are investigating whether their citizens were abducted.
- AP