A United States missionary working with the evangelical Christian group SIM has been kidnapped in Niger’s capital, Niamey, in what authorities fear is another incident linked to extremist networks operating across the Sahel.
Diplomatic and local sources confirmed that the victim — a man in his 50s — was abducted on Tuesday and is “already en route for the border with Mali.” The identity of the missionary has not been disclosed for security reasons.
The incident marks the latest in a series of kidnappings of Western nationals this year in Niger’s north, a region tormented by jihadist violence and governed by a military junta since 2023. The junta’s coup led to the withdrawal of US and French forces, leaving vast areas unmonitored and vulnerable to militant attacks.
SIM, which operates across West Africa, focuses on evangelism, church support, and community projects such as water access and medical aid. Its staff have increasingly become targets as insecurity deepens across the Sahel.
In April, a 67-year-old Swiss missionary identified as “Claudia” was kidnapped in Agadez — the same city where Austrian aid worker Eva Gretzmacher, 73, was abducted three months earlier.
Both incidents were reportedly linked to the Islamic State in the Sahel, acting through local criminal groups.
In October 2020, American missionary Philip Walton was seized near Niger’s southern border but later rescued in a daring US special forces operation in Nigeria. Similarly, humanitarian worker Jeffery Woodke, kidnapped in 2016, was freed seven years later.
Niger’s security situation has deteriorated sharply since the junta’s takeover. Many analysts warn that the absence of Western troops has allowed jihadist cells to regroup and expand their reach.
“With our withdrawal from the region, we have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely,” former US Africa Command chief General Michael Langley said in May.
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