Béatrice Stöckli (died 9 October 2020) was a Swiss Christian missionary. She was killed in 2020 after having been taken hostage by the Islamic militant group

Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin Nusrat al-Islam, officially known as Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin' (, JNIM; , GSIM English: ''Support Group for Islam and Muslims'') is a militant jihadist organisation in the Maghreb and West Africa formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, ...

, a branch of Al-Qaeda in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

Biography

Stöckli was from

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. She worked as an Evangelical Christian missionary in

. Stöckli was kidnapped in April 2012, after being in Mali for ten years, by an Islamic extremist group. She was later released under the terms that she not return to Mali. She returned, and was kidnapped again in 2016 by

, the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali, while working in

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

. In July 2017 she appeared in a video released by the terrorist group, wearing a black headscarf, and was identified as "Beatrice S." On 9 October 2020 French authorities notified the Swiss Federal Government that a Swiss hostage in Mali was killed by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, after her death was confirmed by fellow hostage

Sophie Pétronin Maryam Petronin (birth name Sophie Pétronin) (born 7 July 1945) is a French-Swiss humanitarian aid worker and nutritionist. She is the founder and director of "Aide à Gao", a Swiss non-governmental relief organization that assists children su ...

. Her death was confirmed by the

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...

Ignazio Cassis Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis (; born 13 April 1961) is a Swiss physician and politician who has served as President of the Swiss Confederation since 1 January 2022. A member of FDP. The Liberals, he has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Cou ...

, the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, released a statement saying "It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of our fellow citizen. I condemn this cruel act and express my deepest sympathy to the relatives." Stöckli's remains were recovered in March 2021.

References

2020 deaths Christian missionaries in Mali Female Christian missionaries Islamic terrorism in Mali People from Basel-Stadt People killed by al-Qaeda People murdered in Mali Swiss Christian missionaries Swiss people taken hostage {{Christianity-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References