NIAMEY, Niger — An Austrian girl has been kidnapped by gunmen in Niger’s Agadez metropolis, native residents and the Austrian Overseas Ministry stated on Sunday, the primary time a European citizen is understood to have been kidnapped within the conflict-hit West African nation since a army junta took energy in 2023.
The ministry stated Austria’s embassy in Algeria, which can also be liable for Niger, had been knowledgeable of the kidnap of an Austrian girl in Agadez and was in touch with regional authorities on the bottom.
Residents and native media recognized the sufferer as Eva Gretzmacher and reported she is an support employee who has lived in Agadez — lots of of kilometers (miles) away from the capital metropolis of Niamey — for greater than 20 years.
“(She) is well-known for her social dedication (and) created a expertise middle in 2010 that initiated numerous initiatives, notably within the fields of training, girls’s empowerment, ecology, tradition and artwork,” the native Air Data Agadez reported.
Gretzmacher additionally supported teaching programs via her improvement work and supplied help to native non-government organizations in numerous sectors, native media stated.
No group claimed duty for her abduction and authorities in Niger didn’t instantly touch upon the incident.
Niger has for a few years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a safety disaster that analysts say has worsened because the army toppled the nation’s authorities in July 2023. Regardless of their promise to revive peace in scorching spots, the junta’s capability to enhance Niger’s safety has more and more been questioned amid growing assaults.
Niger was seen as one of many final democratic international locations in Africa’s Sahel area that Western nations may companion with to beat again the jihadi insurgency within the huge expanse under the Sahara Desert. The nation has severed decadeslong army ties with the West and turned to Russia as a brand new safety companion.
