Residents and native media report that the sufferer is a 73-year-old who was taken within the metropolis of Agadez.
An Austrian girl has been kidnapped in Niger, the primary time a European citizen has been seized within the nation because the army took energy in 2023.
Austria’s Federal Ministry for European and Worldwide Affairs mentioned on Sunday that its embassy in Algeria, which can also be chargeable for Niger, had been knowledgeable of the kidnap of an Austrian girl in Agadez and was in touch with authorities on the bottom.
A Nigerien safety supply advised the Reuters information company that the girl was bundled right into a four-wheel drive by unknown assailants within the Fada district of Agadez, which lies on the sting of the Sahara Desert.
Residents and native media group Air-Information Agadez named the sufferer as Eva Gretzmacher, who has lived in Agadez – 900km (560 miles) from the capital metropolis of Niamey – for 28 years.
In line with info gathered by Air-Information, armed kidnappers confirmed up at Gretzmacher’s house on Saturday night, forcing her safety guard to open the door at gunpoint earlier than forcing Gretzmacher right into a car.
“[She] is well-known for her social dedication [and] created a abilities centre in 2010 that initiated varied tasks, notably within the fields of training, ladies’s empowerment,” Air-Information reported.
Gretzmacher, 73, supported training programmes and offered help to native nongovernmental organisations throughout varied sectors, together with ecology and artwork.
Austria’s International Ministry is searching for help from its counterpart in Niger. It’s also in touch with regional authorities.
To date, Niger’s Ministry of Inside has not issued an announcement concerning the incident.
No group has but claimed accountability for the kidnapping.
Rising safety threats
For years, Niger has been battling armed teams linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). Safety threats ramped up after the army toppled the nation’s democratically elected authorities in July 2023.
After seizing energy, the army expelled French and United States forces from the nation, turning to Russian mercenaries in an effort to take care of stability.
Regardless of its promise to revive peace, nevertheless, the army’s capability to enhance Niger’s safety has been questioned amid rising assaults by armed teams.
Niger is certainly one of a number of West African international locations battling armed rebellions which have spread from Mali and Burkina Faso over the previous 12 years, killing hundreds of individuals and uprooting hundreds of thousands.
Earlier than final yr’s coup, Niger was seen as one of many final democratic international locations in Africa’s Sahel area that Western nations might companion with to beat again the insurrection.
