Two International Red Cross workers kidnapped in Mali – ICRC

BAMAKO (Reuters) – Two workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross have been kidnapped in northern Mali, the ICRC in Mali said on Twitter on Saturday.

It said the abductions took place between the northern cities of Gao and Kidal – long a hotspot for jihadist and militia violence.

“We confirm the kidnapping of 02 of our colleagues this morning … We ask for no speculation about the incident so as not to hinder its resolution,” the ICRC in Mali said.

It did not disclose the names or nationalities of those kidnapped.

Mali has faced instability since 2012, when Islamists hijacked an ethnic Tuareg rebellion in the north. Since then they have spread across West Africa’s Sahel, killing thousands and displacing more than 2 million people in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Alessandra Prentie; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)