missionary

The kidnapped man is a pilot for an evangelical organisation, a diplomatic source says.

A US missionary working for an evangelical Christian organisation has been kidnapped in Niger’s capital Niamey, the US State Department has said, in the latest kidnapping of a foreign national in the country.

The US State Department confirmed the abduction to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, saying its embassy in Niamey was doing what it could to secure the man’s safe release.

The victim, a man in his 50s, was seized on Tuesday night and was “already en route for the border with Mali”, a diplomatic source told AFP.

The Reuters news agency, citing another diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was a pilot for the evangelical organisation Serving in Mission (SIM).

SIM describes itself on its website as a “global mission family of more than 4,000 people, serving in more than 70 countries”, whose focus is on “taking the gospel to places where there are no, or very few, Christians”.

The diplomat said the victim was abducted by three unidentified men in Niamey’s Plateau neighbourhood as he was heading for the airport. The group then headed for Niger’s western Tillaberi region, where armed fighters linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda are known to operate.

In a post on X, Wamaps, a collective of journalists in West Africa, said the abducted man had been working in Niger since 2010, and had been kidnapped just a few streets away from the presidential palace in central Niamey. It said no group had yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping or claimed a ransom.

String of kidnappings

The abduction is the latest in a spate of kidnappings this year in Niger, a country that has been battling armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL for years. Security threats ramped up after the military toppled the country’s democratically elected government in July 2023.

In April, 67-year-old Swiss woman Claudia Abbt was kidnapped in the northern city of Agadez, three months after the abduction of Austrian Eva Gretzmacher, 73, in the same city. Neither has been released.

ISIL was considered responsible for the kidnappings, carried out by local criminal groups on its behalf, AFP reported, citing observers of armed groups in the region.

According to Wamaps, other abductions of foreign nationals this year have included four Moroccan truck drivers in January, two Chinese petroleum company workers in February, and five Indian power company technicians in April.

Niger is one of several West African countries battling armed conflict that has spread from Mali and Burkina Faso over the past 12 years, killing thousands of people and uprooting millions.

Following Niger’s 2023 military coup, US and French forces that had been involved in the fight against armed violence in the region were expelled from Niger, as the country turned to Russian mercenaries in an effort to maintain stability.

In May, General Michael Langley, the former head of the US Africa Command, said that the withdrawal had removed the US military’s “ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely, but [we] continue to liaison with partners to provide what support we can”.

Ransoms have surged as Haiti struggles with widespread gang violence, particularly around its capital Port-au-Prince.

Eight people, including an Irish missionary and a three-year-old child, have been released following a kidnapping at an orphanage in Haiti.

The announcement on Friday ended nearly a month of captivity for the group, which included Irish missionary Gena Heraty, the director of a special needs programme for children and adults at the Saint-Helene orphanage.

“We warmly welcome the news that Gena and all of the Haitian nationals taken captive on [August 3], including a small child, have been released and are reported to be safe and well,” Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said in a statement posted on X.

Kidnappings and ransoms have become increasingly common in Haiti, where gang violence has surged amid overlapping political, humanitarian and security crises.

The targeted orphanage was located in the southeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where the United Nations estimates gangs control nearly 90 percent of the territory.

Run by the international charity Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs, the orphanage cares for more than 240 children, according to its website.

Further details of the release were not immediately available. No group claimed responsibility for the attack on the school in early August, although the area is controlled by the Viv Ansanm gang federation.

In a statement, Heraty’s family said they were “relieved beyond words”.

“We continue to hold Haiti in our hearts and hope for peace and safety for all those who are affected by the ongoing armed violence and insecurity there,” they wrote.

In April 2021, two French priests were among 10 people kidnapped by the “400 Mawozo” gang before they were released nearly three weeks later.

The gang took 17 American and Canadian missionaries hostage from a bus six months later.

Friday’s release came as the UN Security Council began talks to bolster a floundering international police force deployed to Haiti starting in June 2024 to counter the rising violence.

Just under 1,000 personnel, mostly Kenyan, are currently in the country as part of the US-backed mission, a number far below the 2,500 troops originally expected.

A draft proposal, put forth by the US and Panama this week, seeks to transition the mission into a so-called “Gang Suppression Force”.

The proposal would authorise a deployment of up to 5,500 personnel and establish a UN office in Port-au-Prince to provide “full logistical support” for rations, fuel, medical services, ground transportation and surveillance from drones.

It further laid out a plan to encourage more voluntary funding and resources, but the draft did not directly address the current mission’s lagging support. Earlier this month, the UN said its effort to bring stability to Haiti was less than 10 percent funded.

UN missions remain controversial in Haiti, with past deployments resulting in a sexual abuse scandal and cholera epidemic that killed more than 9,000 people.

Still, the country’s leaders have requested external help as violence and displacement have surged.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said at least 3,141 people have been killed in Haiti in the first half of this year.

On Thursday, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that a “staggering” 50 percent of gang members and participants in the country were children.