Around 35 people have been arrested in
the course of the investigation related to the murder of the two French
journalists.
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Malian
journalists hold a banner showing portraits of Radio France Internationale
(RFI) journalist Ghislaine Dupont and sound technician Claude Verlon killed in
the town of Kidal. AFP photo
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At least 35 suspects have been arrested
in 48 hours as the hunt intensifies for the killers of two French journalists
shot dead in Mali's rebel-infested north, according to news reports.
Ghislaine Dupont, 57, and Claude
Verlon, 55, were kidnapped and killed by what French
officials called "terrorist groups" after interviewing a spokesman
for Tuareg separatists in the flashpoint northeastern town of Kidal on
Saturday.
"A few dozen people have been
arrested on Malian territory over 48 hours in the course of the investigation
related to the murder of the two French journalists," a source from the
Kidal administration told AFP.
A member of the Malian security forces
confirmed the information, putting the number of people detained at "at
least 35".
News of the arrests came after the
bodies of the Radio France Internationale (RFI) journalists arrived back
in Paris.
Investigation continues
The Kidal government source described
the arrests as an "encouraging" advance in the investigation.
"In the car abandoned not far from
the crime scene, precious phone numbers were found. This is an important
detail," the source said, without revealing if the numbers had been linked
to suspects.
The Malian security source told AFP
evidence was "accumulating" and amounted to more than just
"clues".
He said investigators were being helped
by prisoners jailed for the kidnapping of Frenchmen Philippe Verdon and Serge
Lazarevic, ordered by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
In its edition dated Wednesday French
newspaper Le Monde said in a report that could not be independently
verified that three of the four people involved in the RFI journalists'
abduction had been identified, citing Malian and French sources. It also
referred to a document found near the bodies.
"They are not among those arrested
since Sunday. According to a local source in Kidal, confirmed by a French
government source, the discovery of profiles of these three members of the
hostage-takers in particular was made possible through a document found in the
vehicle near the bodies of the two journalists," the paper reported.
Le Monde said that "this
has permitted the identification of a first individual already designated in
2010 as a member of AQIM, and up to two other members of the armed group. It
soon became clear that these individuals were known to French intelligence
services operating in northern of Mali."
France sent troops to Mali early this
year to drive out Islamists and Tuareg rebels who had seized the country's vast
north after a coup.
Paris has always said the mission would
be reduced by two-thirds by early next year as a 12,600-strong UN peacekeeping
force takes over.
Some in Mali have voiced concern over
the French drawdown amid an increase in violence, as the country's continued
instability was highlighted this week with the deaths of the RFI journalists.
A French military patrol found Dupont
and Verlon's bodies about 12 kilometres (seven miles) east of Kidal, just hours
after they were snatched on Saturday, lying by a pick-up truck in which they
had been abducted.
After meeting with RFI management on
Monday, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita vowed the country would
"do everything to find the culprits".
Source: Doha Centre for Media Freedom
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