The army announced in a communiqué issued during the night of April 12-13, 2022, the arrest of three Europeans in central Mali. There are no official details on their nationality or profile, but they were arrested last Sunday as part of an anti-terrorist operation near Diabaly, in the Segou region. This is an area where jihadists from the Macina katiba have a strong presence. Malian authorities have not released any further information about this surprising arrest.
“The Fama detachment in Diabaly arrested five suspects, including three European nationals, on April 10.” According to the Malian military, these arrests were made as part of the anti-terrorist operation “Maliko.” Nothing more, but it is understood that the Malian soldiers suspect that these three Europeans are themselves jihadist fighters.
According to diplomatic and security sources, the three Germans, two men and one woman, were in the area for an agricultural project as part of a twinning arrangement between a German and a Malian commune. They were transferred to Bamako “for their safety” and then released.
The army made public their arrest on Tuesday night, three days later, referring in its statement only to “European nationals” as “suspects.” Even though the three Germans had already been transferred to Bamako and released. What to raise many questions and feed, on social networks and in the Malian streets, all sorts of theories.