US Missionary Kidnapped in Niger as Armed Groups Escalate Attacks

A United States missionary working for the evangelical organisation Serving in Mission (SIM) has been kidnapped in Niger’s capital, Niamey, the latest in a string of abductions targeting foreign nationals in the country.

The US State Department confirmed the incident on Wednesday, saying the embassy in Niamey was “working with local authorities” to ensure the man’s safe release.

According to diplomatic sources cited by AFP, the victim, a pilot in his 50, was abducted on Tuesday night in the Plateau district while heading to the airport. The kidnappers, believed to be three armed men, reportedly began moving him toward Niger’s western Tillaberi region, a stronghold for fighters linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

Reuters reported that the missionary had been working in Niger since 2010. Local journalist collective Wamaps said he was taken just a few streets away from the presidential palace — a bold act that underscores the worsening security situation even in the heart of the capital.

No group has yet claimed responsibility or demanded a ransom.

The kidnapping comes amid a rise in abductions in Niger this year. In April, Swiss national Claudia Abbt, 67, was kidnapped in Agadez, just months after the abduction of Austrian woman Eva Gretzmacher, 73, in the same area. Both remain missing.

Observers say ISIL is likely behind the kidnappings, often outsourcing the operations to local criminal networks. Other foreign victims this year have included four Moroccan truck drivers, two Chinese oil workers, and five Indian engineers.

Niger has faced intensifying instability since the July 2023 military coup that ousted its elected government. The junta expelled US and French forces and has since deepened security ties with Russian mercenaries, a move that Western officials warn could worsen the chaos.

Former US Africa Command chief General Michael Langley said in May that the troop withdrawal had left Washington “without the ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely,” though the US still coordinates indirectly through regional partners.