2 Indians shot dead, another kidnapped in Niger; government seeks safe release

Gunmen killed at least two Indians and abducted a third during an attack in Niger’s southwest Dosso region, according to Indian authorities, the latest such violence targeting foreigners in Niger’s conflict-battered territories.

The Indian Embassy in Niger said in a statement on X on Friday that the attack occurred on Tuesday, and that it was in touch with local authorities to repatriate the bodies of the victims and ensure the safe release of the kidnapped individual.

Local media in Niger identified the victims as workers at a construction site in Dosso, located 140 kilometres (87 miles) from the country’s capital of Niamey.

Foreigners are increasingly becoming targets of armed groups in Niger. Several of them have been kidnapped this year, including an Austrian woman who has lived in Niger as an aid worker for more than 20 years, a Swiss woman seized from her home in April and five Indian workers, also in April.

Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a security crisis that analysts say has worsened since the military toppled the country’s government in July 2023, and has since struggled to restore peace in hot spots.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, June was one of the country’s deadliest months on record as IS-backed fighters launched a major offensive across the Tillaberi and Dosso regions, killing more than 100 civilians in what marked a return to mass atrocities in rural areas.

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