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December 03, 2025 – Greece –
A disturbing new video has emerged showing two journalists from Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM — director Daouda Koné and cameraman Salif Sangaré — pleading for rescue after being abducted by the jihadist group JNIM.
The pair were kidnapped on 14 October while travelling between Sévaré and Konna, in Mali’s volatile central Mopti region — an area beset by jihadist violence and chaos. Over six weeks later, snippets of a hostage video surfaced showing them dressed in traditional boubous, sitting in front of a draped backdrop. Their tone is somber and seemingly coerced; they claim they are “being treated well” and urgently call upon viewers to “do everything possible” to secure their freedom.
The footage — graphic, tense, and heartbreaking — has stunned colleagues at ORTM. Many in Mali’s press community describe watching the clips as “hard to bear” and said the pain of seeing their missing colleagues alive but powerless was deeply painful.
Alarmingly, there has been no official response from Mali’s transitional authorities since the abduction. Silence from both the government and ORTM leadership has deepened concerns over the journalists’ fate. Media-rights groups warn that such kidnappings — especially when publicised by militant groups — are designed not only to terrorize individuals but to paralyse independent journalism across the region.
Local observers say the video could indicate a shift: rather than long periods of silence or enforced disappearances, jihadist groups may now resort to public hostage tapes to demand ransom or concessions, while sowing fear among other reporters. The fact that Koné and Sangaré are visible — albeit under duress — underscores how dangerous it has become to cover news in central Mali, where insurgency, lawlessness, and militant control have turned journalists into targets.
In a country where accurate information from conflict zones is already rare, this video represents the chilling limits of press freedom. As calls for action grow, many in the international community — and within Mali’s fragile media industry — await a clear response: Will the authorities act to secure the release of their colleagues — or will this become yet another story of silence and loss?
Reference –
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/hostage-video-shows-abducted-malian-153925807.html
