US missionary abducted in Niger’s capital, State Department confirms

The kidnapped antheral is simply a aviator for an evangelical organisation, a diplomatic root says.

A US missionary moving for an evangelical Christian organisation has been kidnapped successful Niger’s superior Niamey, the US State Department has said, successful the latest kidnapping of a overseas nationalist successful the country.

The US State Department confirmed the abduction to the AFP quality bureau connected Wednesday, saying its embassy successful Niamey was doing what it could to unafraid the man’s harmless release.

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The victim, a antheral successful his 50s, was seized connected Tuesday nighttime and was “already en way for the borderline with Mali”, a diplomatic root told AFP.

The Reuters quality agency, citing different diplomat speaking connected information of anonymity, said the antheral was a aviator for the evangelical organisation Serving successful Mission (SIM).

SIM describes itself connected its website arsenic a “global ngo household of much than 4,000 people, serving successful much than 70 countries”, whose absorption is connected “taking the gospel to places wherever determination are no, oregon precise few, Christians”.

The diplomat said the unfortunate was abducted by 3 unidentified men successful Niamey’s Plateau neighbourhood arsenic helium was heading for the airport. The radical past headed for Niger’s occidental Tillaberi region, wherever equipped fighters linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda are known to operate.

In a station connected X, Wamaps, a corporate of journalists successful West Africa, said the abducted antheral had been moving successful Niger since 2010, and had been kidnapped conscionable a fewer streets distant from the statesmanlike palace successful cardinal Niamey. It said nary radical had yet claimed work for the kidnapping oregon claimed a ransom.

String of kidnappings

The abduction is the latest successful a spate of kidnappings this twelvemonth successful Niger, a state that has been battling equipped groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL for years. Security threats ramped up aft the subject toppled the country’s democratically elected authorities successful July 2023.

In April, 67-year-old Swiss pistillate Claudia Abbt was kidnapped successful the northern metropolis of Agadez, 3 months aft the abduction of Austrian Eva Gretzmacher, 73, successful the aforesaid city. Neither has been released.

ISIL was considered liable for the kidnappings, carried retired by section transgression groups connected its behalf, AFP reported, citing observers of equipped groups successful the region.

According to Wamaps, different abductions of overseas nationals this twelvemonth person included 4 Moroccan motortruck drivers successful January, 2 Chinese petroleum institution workers successful February, and 5 Indian powerfulness institution technicians successful April.

Niger is 1 of respective West African countries battling equipped struggle that has spread from Mali and Burkina Faso implicit the past 12 years, sidesplitting thousands of radical and uprooting millions.

Following Niger’s 2023 subject coup, US and French forces that had been progressive successful the combat against equipped unit successful the portion were expelled from Niger, arsenic the state turned to Russian mercenaries in an effort to support stability.

In May, General Michael Langley, the erstwhile caput of the US Africa Command, said that the withdrawal had removed the US military’s “ability to show these violent groups closely, but [we] proceed to liaison with partners to supply what enactment we can”.