Police officials patrol as people protest in Moundou, Chad, on October 20, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. File Photo / Reuters
N'djamena: A conservationist with dual French and Australian citizenship was kidnapped by unknown individuals in Chad's northeastern Wadi Fira province on Friday, and a search and rescue mission is under way, the Chad government said on Saturday.
Chad's government spokesman, Aziz Mahamat Saleh, said in a statement that the kidnapped man is an environmentalist who manages an oryx park on behalf of the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF).
"The government has mobilised all security and human means in order to get hold of the kidnappers and find (the man)," Saleh wrote.
France's foreign affairs ministry was aware of the kidnapping of one of its citizens and was in contact with the person's family and Chad's authorities to obtain a rapid release, a ministry source said.
Neither SCF nor the Australian mission in Chad could be immediately reached for comment.
