French tourist missing in northeastern Chad, “search underway”

A French tourist has been missing since Wednesday evening in the Guelta de Bachikele tourist area, in northeastern Chad, the local representative of the Chadian state told AFP.

“Research is underway,” assured Mahamat Togou Tchohimi. According to him, the missing Frenchman was a tourist visiting for the International Festival of Saharan Cultures, which opened last Saturday in this border region of Sudan at War.

“The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, via its embassy in Chad and its Crisis and Support Center in Paris, is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the local authorities who are deploying means to find our compatriot,” a diplomatic source told AFP.

“Soldiers are mobilized”

Having left with a friend, also French, “without a guide” to “discover the area”, a team went looking for them after “noting their absence” specified Mahamat Togou Tchohimi. One was found while the other remains missing.

“Soldiers are mobilized in search of this tourist,” a source in the Chadian army confirmed to AFP.

The Guelta de Bachikele is an oasis in the Ennedi massif in northern Chad. “The area is secure,” assures state representative Mahamat Togou Tchohimi.

The site is classified red by the Quai d’Orsay.

After 7 years of interruption, the Amdjarass International Festival of Saharan Cultures intended to celebrate the cultures of the peoples of the Sahara until Friday, with Niger as guest of honor.