Armed men kidnap Colombian nun in southern Mali

Armed men have kidnapped a Colombian nun from the town where she worked in southern Mali, officials said on Wednesday.

The woman was taken late on Tuesday evening from Karangasso, where she had been working in a health centre, about 300 km (186 miles) east of the capital Bamako, security ministry spokesman, Baba Cisse, said.

They also stole an ambulance and then abandoned it for a motorcycle, Cisse said.

Army spokesman Colonel Diarran Kone said the men had not yet been identified and that the army was searching for them.

Islamist militants often stage attacks in Mali’s desert north and sometimes kidnap foreigners there. They are also increasingly conducting raids in southern and central Mali, areas previously deemed safe.