An Austrian woman has been kidnapped by gunmen in the Niger city of Agadez, residents and the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. It is the first time a European citizen has been kidnapped in the conflict-hit West African country since the military junta took power in 2023.
The ministry said the Austrian embassy in Algeria, which is also responsible for Niger, had been informed of the kidnapping of an Austrian woman in Agadez and was in contact with regional authorities on the ground.
Residents and local media identified the victim as Eva Gretzmacher and said she was an aid worker who had lived in Agadez, hundreds of kilometers from the capital city Niamey, for more than 20 years.
“(She) is known for her social commitment (and) she created a skills center in 2010, which has carried out various projects, particularly in the fields of education, women’s empowerment, ecology, culture and art,” the online newspaper Air Info Agadez reported. Started.”
Local media said Gretzmacher also supported education programs through his development work and provided aid to local NGOs in various areas.
No group has claimed responsibility for her kidnapping and authorities in Niger had no immediate comment on the incident.
Niger has been battling a jihadist insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group for several years, with analysts saying the security crisis has worsened since the military toppled the country’s government in July 2023. Despite his promises to restore peace in hot spots, the junta’s ability to improve Niger’s security amid increasing attacks is increasingly being questioned.
Niger was seen as one of the last democratic countries in Africa’s Sahel region with which Western countries could partner to defeat the jihadist insurgency in the vast expanse beneath the Sahara desert. The country has severed decades-long military ties with the West and turned to Russia as a new security partner.
