According to an investigation by several French media, soldiers from Operation Barkhane tried to use Olivier Dubois without his knowledge to locate a jihadist leader.
Does the army have a share of responsibility in the kidnapping of Olivier Dubois? Since March 20, the French journalist has been free, after being held hostage in Mali by a jihadist group for 711 days. A survey published Tuesday, May 16 by several French media (The world, ReleaseRFI and TV5 Monde) reveals the troubled role of the French army in the kidnapping of Oliver Dubois.
“For a year and a half, our four media have chosen to remain silent on the role of [l’opération] Barkhane on the day of the kidnapping so as not to compromise the security of the hostage or the negotiations for his release”precise Release (article reserved for subscribers). Now that he is free, the results of their investigations can be published. Release, The world, RFI and TV5 Monde relied in particular on the investigation opened on May 5, 2021 and entrusted in October 2022 to two investigating judges from the anti-terrorism unit of the Paris judicial court. Franceinfo returns to the main elements of this investigation.
Journalist used to locate jihadist leader Abdallah Ag Albakaye
Olivier Dubois was kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao, near the Malian capital, Bamako, by the jihadist alliance of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel. That day, the independent journalist had planned an interview with a leader of GSIM, Abdallah Ag Albakaye. “The reporter, aged 48 years old, I think I planned this interview with the utmost discretion, writing The world. He has actually been followed for months by the French army..
This meeting was organized through a fixer, a young 25-year-old Tuareg, whom the media named Kader to preserve his anonymity. This source was also an indicator of the intelligence service of the French force Barkhane, which Olivier Dubois knew, according to the investigations of the four media. “ What the reporter does not know is that his fixer will keep the French soldiers informed until the end of the details of the planned meeting with the jihadist leader.continues The world.
Without speaking to the journalist, Kader informs the armies of Abdallah Ag Albakaye’s planned interview. At that time, the soldiers plan to use this appointment to locate the jihadist leader, according to the four media, which had access to court documents on the case. “We considered how it [Kader] was going to provide us with information during this meeting, the objective being to be able to provide us with the location of the meeting place and the actual presence of Abdallah Ag Albakaye”confided the lieutenant who followed Kader during his hearing by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI)as reported by the media.
Suspicions kept secret on the real intention of the jihadist leader
When the armies learn that Abdallah Ag Albakaye agrees to speak with Olivier Dubois, they are initially surprised. The man is indeed described as “extremely careful” And “very little mobile” by soldiers questioned by the DGSI, still according to the four media. His attitude is all the more surprising as the Emir agrees to postpone the date of the interview, initially scheduled for April 5, 2021, twice, at the request of the journalist.
On April 7, the day before the interview, a confidential meeting is organized in N’Djamena (Chad), where the command of the Barkhane force is located. A colonel in the French force points out that the “latest information collected”in particular concerning the unusually conciliatory behavior of the jihadist leader, accredit “the hypothesis of an abduction” coming. The army therefore gave up in extremis on taking advantage of the opportunity to locate Abdallah Ag Albakaye, and considered that the journalist should be warned.
The next day, when Olivier Dubois was already on the plane en route to Gao, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent him an email: “the area in which you plan to go is formally not recommended for travelers for reasons detailed on our site”, it is indicated, without further details. He is just asked to “reconsider the displacement project”. Asked about the subject during a press briefing on Wednesday May 17, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply replied that “a judicial investigation has been opened, entrusted to two investigating judges from the anti-terrorist unit”.
No means deployed to protect Olivier Dubois
Apart from this e-mail, which Olivier Dubois will not read, nothing is done to protect the journalist who throws himself into the mouth of the wolf, according to the investigation of the four media. According to The worldIinvestigation by the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces (IGA) published in September 2021 will reveal that the commander of the Barkhane force did indeed suggest to Joël Meyer, the French ambassador in Bamako, “ on the evening of April 7, to conduct a maneuver aimed at preventing the journalist from traveling to Gao, possibly relying on the Malian services”. But the daily states that “this alert will not give rise to the realization of an obstruction maneuver”, for unknown reasons.
“When you have an intelligence operation that is carried out and (…) we let the operation take place even though we have identified a very high risk of kidnapping (…) without providing for a device to prevent the worst from happening, yes, it is obviously a matter of shortcomings and negligence“, judge Arnaud Froger, head of the investigation office of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with franceinfo.
Furthermore, the IGA concluded end of 2021 that there was “no personal fault within the Barkhane force”, but that “the sensitivity of the subject was not taken into account at a sufficient level to conduct (…) a dissuasive action against the journalist”. Contacted by franceinfo, the general staff of the armies assured that it did not want to comment, adding that “a judicial investigation [était] in progress”.