Kidnapped Australian couple doing ‘god’s work’ in Africa ‘worth more alive than dead’ to jihadists

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Kidnapped Australian couple doing ‘god’s work’ in Africa ‘worth more alive than dead’ to jihadists

9:40 CAT | 18 Jan 2016

7 News (Supplied) / Jocelyn and Ken Elliot.

Islamic jihadists abducted an Australian couple from their home in Burkina Faso where they have lived and volunteered for more than 40 years “doing god’s work”.

A group of four men with links to Al Qaeda reportedly burst into Ken Elliot and his wife Jocelyn’s home around 4am on Friday.

There were signs of a struggle but the couple are believed to be safe with one security expert telling 7 News their captors likely aware the coupled held in high esteem in the area as “worth more alive than dead”.

Friends found Mrs Elliot’s shoe near a fence but there are conflicting reports as to whether the couple was taken as they slept in their beds or while they ate breakfast.

The Elliots headed to West African nation in 1972 as missionaries, building a hospital with their bare hands in the Djibo where there was none before, about 200km north of the capital Ouagadougou.

The couple were originally from Perth where Dr Elliot worked for the Royal Flying Doctors Service and at Fremantle hospital before they took their young family to the impoverished nation to begin their missionary work.

Over the past four decades Dr Elliot has used his skills as a surgeon to perform around 150 procedures each week. He is the sole surgeon and works with limited resources and has no ongoing financial backing.

Elekia Jean grew up in the area and knew the Elliots well, telling 7 News she called the elderly couple, now in their 80s, “aunty and uncle”.

“They’re very well known by the community from supporting and giving medical help and always showing unconditional love there,” she said.

Family members said the couple had dedicated their lives to providing medical care in Burkina Faso.

“They are held in high esteem by the local people,” they said.

Foreign affairs expert Dr Keith Suter told 7 News it is a good sign the elderly volunteers were not immediately killed.

“It’s good that they weren’t killed on the spot,” he said. “Obviously the kidnappers figure they’re worth more alive than dead.”

Burkina Faso president Roch Marc Christian Kabore confirmed that the two Australians had been kidnapped near the border with Mali.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss said the Government was taking the “suspected” kidnapping “very seriously”.

“The safety of the Australians involved is our highest priority,” he said. “All actions the Australian Government takes will be in the interest of their welfare.

“We are working with local authorities through our High Commission in Accra, Ghana, which is responsible for Australian interests in Burkina Faso.”

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings said Westerners were a popular target for militants in West Africa.

“Often what happens is the group is looking for money,” he said.

The abduction followed attacks in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou on Friday that have left 28 people from 18 countries dead.

The Ouagadougou assault, claimed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, marked an expansion of operations for Islamist militants who are stepping up their activities, echoing the growth of Islamic State in the Middle East.

He said the 28 people were killed in the 146-room Splendid Hotel, in the Cappuccino restaurant across the street and at a second nearby hotel, the Hotel Yibi.

Speaking on State-run television, Kabore said 156 hostages had been freed when security forces retook the area, while about 50 civilians had been wounded.

Four members of the security forces, including a French soldier, were also wounded and four jihadis were killed.

Among the victims from 18 different countries were the wife and five-year-old daughter of the Italian man who owns the Cappuccino Cafe, where at least 10 people died in a hail of gunfire and smoke after the attackers set the building ablaze before moving on to the Splendid Hotel nearby.

Two French and two Swiss citizens were confirmed among the dead late on Saturday by the two countries’ foreign ministries.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that six of the dead were Canadians.

Authorities said the four known attackers – all killed by security forces – had come in a vehicle with plates from neighbouring Niger.

At least two of them were women and one was of African descent.

Burkinabe forces backed by French soldiers based in neighbouring Mali managed to help free at least 126 hostages.

Source: 7 News, Australia