By Marie-Pierre OlphandPierre FirtionDavid BachéPosted on 02-11-2019Modified on 02-11-2019 at 00:22

On 2 November 2013, Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, of RFI, were kidnapped and murdered near Kidal, in northern Mali. Six years later, the circumstances of their execution remain unclear. Investigations are in progress. Several kidnappers and sponsors are still running.

Six years after the assassination of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the investigation is progressing slowly, but it is progressing. The main one is the analysis of the data from the detailed telephone bills in the file. Several dozen numbers are scrutinized. Some belong to peripheral actors, others, more promising, correspond to the phones found in the pick-up abandoned by the kidnappers.

The investigators continue their work, with one limit: the French justice still waiting for many elements. The judge asked two operators: Orange Mali and Malitel, a subsidiary of the Maroc Telecom group. Orange Mali has responded to several requisitions, which has allowed a first analysis work already valuable. But Malitel's answer is considered too fragmented.

Malitel did not give satisfaction to the judge

From a French judicial source, the operator ostensibly posted his refusal to cooperate. And this on several occasions. " Several requests have not been honored, it should stop, " says Pierre-Yves Schneider, spokesman for the association of Friends of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, civil party in the case. " There needs to be a greater willingness on the part of these services. And maybe with a little pressure from the Malian political authorities, we'll get there ! " He hopes.

" The heart of a file can be revealed in the telephone, explains Marie Dosé, the lawyer of the association. It is an essential element that allows you to know who is related to whom, to reconstitute a schedule or a movement within a perimeter .

Malitel denies for his part wanting to obstruct justice. Its CEO, joined by RFI, assures to have communicated all the data in its possession. " Our door is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, " adds Abdelaziz Biddine, who promises to do further research in his archives if the French judge asks him to do so.

High level auditions

The past year has also been marked by the hearings of former President François Hollande and former intelligence chief Bernard Bajolet. Failing to constitute a real "advance", they testify to the willingness of the judge in charge of the case to progress. Object of these hearings: the interception of a conversation during which a possible sponsor would reproach a member of the commando for having " destroyed the goods ". A listening of which François Hollande and Bernard Bajolet both clearly spoke in front of journalists of RFI, but of which they denied having knowledge before the judge.

Another track has been dismissed in recent months: that of hacking Ghislaine Dupont's computer, after his death. It was invalidated by computer expertises commissioned by the examining magistrate. This hypothesis had been formulated in a TV report from France 2 .

In parallel with the work of justice, RFI revealed last July that the French Special Forces had pursued the kidnappers. An element obscured, even today, by the official version of the army and the authorities.

Despite several promising leads, six years later, the questions that haunt families remain numerous.

Persistent shadow areas

The reasons and circumstances of the assassination of the two hostages are still not known. Did the kidnappers whose car broke down panicked after realizing they were being chased? Did they receive an order from a sponsor to kill Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon? And which of the kidnappers killed our colleagues, whose bodies were found about thirty meters from the vehicle?

Another persistent shadow zone, the action of the French forces after the kidnapping. Officially, a ground pursuit is launched, after three quarters of an hour, with six armored vehicles. But, according to information from RFI, it was the special forces that were the first to be prevented. They also pursued the kidnappers . What role did they play?

Another question: how two kidnappers - the two others would have been killed - and at least one sponsor always manage to escape the military? Are they protected, and if so, what are their accomplices?

Baye Ag Bakabo, a still very active kidnapper

Among the many people still wanted by the justice is the commander of the commando. Baye Ag Bakabo is also particularly active in recent months. His new specialty: targeted assassinations. Always under the patronage of Sidan Ag Hitta , also involved in the assassination of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, Baye Ag Bakabo would have taken the lead of a katiba called "Mohamed Ben Mouslima", specializing in the elimination of people collaborating with the French force Barkhane.

In early September, Ahabi Ag Ahmayad, an important MNLA military leader, who worked with the French army in the early hours of his intervention in Mali, was assassinated with his two bodyguards. Ahabi's relatives accuse the men of Baye Ag Bakabo, who was seen in person in the town of Kidal.

On August 25, Baye Ag Bakabo also reportedly led the kidnapping of Alla Ag Gamodi, a deserter from the Malian army, also accused of being close to the French, in a camp near Kidal.

Finally, in June, Moussa Ag Ismaïl, Menaka's gendarme, who worked with Barkhane, is riddled with bullets. It is this same katiba who claims assassination.

Overview In Kidal or his family camp, east of the city, in recent months, Baye Ag Bakabo also stays frequently in southern Algeria, near Tinzaouatene, where members of his family reside. Information cross-checked with many Malian sources, politicians and armed groups in Bamako and Kidal. To this day, Baye Ag Bakabo is still among those wanted by the French army.

    On the same subject

    Death of G. Dupont and C. Verlon: French parliamentarians question the state

    Death of G. Dupont and C. Verlon: Special forces sued kidnappers

    Death of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon: the civil parties at the judges

    Death of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon: request for an interview with François Hollande

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