Quebec woman and travelling partner, abducted in Burkina Faso, found alive in Mali
A Canadian woman and her Italian travelling companion who were suspected to have been abducted in West Africa 15 months ago have been found.
Édith Blais, 34 of Sherbrooke, Que., and Luca Tacchetto 30, had been travelling by car in southwestern Burkina Faso, heading to Togo to do volunteer work, when they vanished around Dec. 15, 2018.
The United Nations mission in Mali, MINUSMA, confirmed to CBC News that the pair is now free in neighbouring Mali.
Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the head of MINUSMA, said preliminary information suggested Blais and Tacchetto escaped their captors. A civilian vehicle then found them and took them to a United Nations camp, he said.
Global Affairs Canada said it’s aware of the report of their release but did not provide additional information.
I just spoke to Edith Blais and Luca Tacchetto. I can confirm they are safe. I would like to thank my counterpart from Mali <a href=”https://twitter.com/T_Drame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@t_drame</a> and the President <a href=”https://twitter.com/PresidenceMali?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@PresidenceMali</a>, the <a href=”https://twitter.com/UN_MINUSMA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UN_MINUSMA</a> and Burkina Faso for their cooperation. We look forward to Edith returning home.
—@FP_Champagne
Al-Qaeda and other militant groups have operated in northern Mali for more than a decade and have kidnapped a number of Western hostages, typically holding them until ransoms are paid.
Senior Liberal cabinet ministers met with Blais’ family in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region in January 2019 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time he believed Blais was still alive.
Another Canadian, Kirk Woodman, was found dead in northern Burkina Faso in 2019, near the border with Mali and Niger. An executive with a Vancouver-based mining company, Woodman had been kidnapped a day earlier by gunmen as he worked on a gold mining project.