An Austrian woman has been kidnapped by gunmen in Niger’s Agadez city, local residents and the Austrian foreign ministry said on Sunday, the first time a European citizen is known to have been kidnapped in the conflict-hit West African nation since a military junta took power in 2023.
The ministry said Austria’s embassy in Algeria, which is also responsible for Niger, had been informed of the kidnap 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 reported she is an aid worker who has lived in Agadez – hundreds of kilometers (miles) away from the capital city of Niamey – for more than 20 years.
“(She) is well known for her social commitment (and) created a skills center in 2010 that initiated various projects, notably in the fields of education, women’s empowerment, ecology, culture and art,” the local Air Info Agadez reported.
Gretzmacher also supported education programs through her development work and provided assistance to local non-government organizations in various sectors, local media said.
No group claimed responsibility for her abduction and authorities in Niger did not immediately comment on the incident.
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.
Despite their promise to restore peace in hot spots, the junta’s capacity to improve Niger’s security has increasingly been questioned amid increasing attacks.
Niger was seen as one of the last democratic countries in Africa’s Sahel region that Western nations could partner with to beat back the jihadi insurgency in the vast expanse below the Sahara Desert.
The country has severed decades-long military ties with the West and turned to Russia as a new security partner.