The disappearance of one of the priests of the Missionaries of Africa in Mali, doubts who could have been kidnapped by a jihadist group.
“We know that the police have been activated to search for Fr. Hans-Joachim Lohre, but at the moment it is not yet known if they have kidnapped him and what group did it”, they told the Vatican Fides agency from the General Curia of the congregation.
Known as “Ha-Jo”, Fr. Hans-Joachim, 65, had been in Mali for more than 30 years, where he works at the Islamic-Christian Training Institute (Ific) and is responsible for the Hamdallaye Faith and Meeting Center.
“He had to go to the community of Kalaban Coura for Sunday Mass but since then he has not been heard from again,” the Missionaries of Africa said in an internal communication.
Fides explains that the car of the German priest was found near the IFIC in Bamako, the country’s capital; while investigators found the chain with the priest’s broken cross next to the car.
It is possible that, because he is German, the attackers were looking for the missionary since the German army has 1,200 soldiers in Mali, as part of the UN mission.