Tags
Gunmen raided the house of a US aid worker in central Niger overnight, killing his two guards before driving him off across the desert towards Mali, the mayor of the town said on Saturday.
‘First they came on a motorbike and killed the guards,’ the mayor of Abalak, Ahmed Dilo, told Reuters by telephone. ‘Then a 4x4 came and took him away and drove towards the Mali border.’
Residents reported hearing gunfire near the aid worker's house, where he had been living for years. Dilo said a Nigerien soldier was among the guards killed.
Kidnappings of foreigners in Niger are rarer than in neighbour Mali, where Islamist militants are active and often seize hostages for ransom or political capital.
The militants and allied criminal gangs have long exploited the largely unpoliced desert spaces of the Sahara and attacks have increased this year as security worsens in Mali.
No US citizen has been kidnapped in Niger before, although in 2009 suspected
militants attempted to abduct US embassy personnel from a hotel in the town of Tahoua.
A US embassy spokeswoman said there was an investigation into the incident but could not confirm any additional details. Niger security forces did not immediately comment.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
