OREANDA-NEWS. French journalist Olivier Dubois has been abducted by Islamists in Mali. This was announced by the Director General of the international human rights organization «Reporters without Borders» Christophe Deloir in his Twitter on Wednesday, May 5. A source in the French Foreign Ministry confirmed this information to «Reuters», noting that the agency has already contacted the Dubois family.

Dubois was abducted by the Islamic and Muslim Support Group, a terrorist group with close ties to «Al-Qaeda», on April 8 in the town of Gao in northeastern Mali, where he was reporting, Deloire said. On that day, the journalist, who «knew this very dangerous part» of Mali well, did not return to the hotel after lunch.

«Reporters without Borders» learned about the disappearance of Dubois on April 10, but decided not to make this information public, hoping for an early release, the general director of the organization wrote further. «Reporters without Borders» calls for the release of Dubois and asks the authorities of Mali and France to «do everything possible to achieve his release», as well as to support the family and friends of the journalist.