Body found in Ivory Coast may be missing French-Canadian journalist

[News_Editor]

Body found in Ivory Coast may be missing French-Canadian journalist

2012-01-08 04:02:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

ABIDJAN (BNO NEWS) -- Skeleton remains were unearthed in a town in the western region of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) on Friday, state-run media reported on Saturday. The remains are believed to belong to a missing French-Canadian journalist.

The state-owned Agence Ivoirienne de Presse (AIP) said the remains were discovered on Friday in a village near the town of Issia, which is located in the Haut-Sassandra Region in western Ivory Coast. Authorities believe the remains belong to journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer, who went missing in Abidjan in April 2004.

Bernard Kieffer, the brother of the missing reporter, told French media that DNA samples were taken and are being flown to France for analysis. The remains were taken to Abidjan, the country's economic capital, where Ivorian investigators will examine the remains.

French Judge Patrick Ramael, who is in charge of the French investigation, was present at the site.

According to AIP, the body was found to have been buried under parts of a bridge near a river. Authorities were led to the site by an informant who said he saw the body when it was being buried, but few other details were immediately released.

"We are still a long way from finding out exactly what happened to Kieffer," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement following Saturday's announcement. "If it is turns out that the remains are Kieffer's, confirming that he was murdered and then buried after his abduction, the identity of those who gave the orders and those who carried it out still has to be established. Who killed him? Why? Several persons suspected of being involved have never been detained."

Kieffer went missing on April 16, 2004, while following leads on a government corruption story he was preparing. His investigation is believed to have angered senior officials in the government of president Laurent Gbagbo, who was ousted last year following an election defeat that led to the Second Ivorian Civil War. Gbagbo's government at the time denied any involvement.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-08