A Swiss woman living in northern Mali has been kidnapped from her home for the second time in four years.
Residents and officials in Timbuktu say gunmen entered the home of Beatrice Stockly Friday morning and took her away. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Switzerland's Foreign Ministry said it was aware of a "suspected kidnapping" of a Swiss national in Mali but did not provide further details.
Stockly, a woman in her 40s who is a Christian missionary, was also abducted by Islamist militants in April 2012 and released about 10 days later.
Islamist groups were taking over northern Mali at that time following a military coup in the capital, Bamako. French-led forces ousted them the following year but the militants remain active.
Dozens of Westerners were kidnapped by miltant groups in West and North Africa between 2008 and 2013. Most have been released, but two Westerners kidnapped in northern Mali in 2011 are still being held by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
