- Six French aid workers were killed in Niger on Sunday in an attack described as "terrorist" by Emmanuel Macron.
- In France, the national antiterrorist prosecution opened an investigation the next day for "assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise".
- A team made up of investigators and experts from the technical and scientific police arrived in Niger at the end of the day on Tuesday.
Their plane landed late Tuesday afternoon on the tarmac at Niamey airport. Twenty-four hours after the national anti-terrorism prosecution opened an investigation for "assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise", eleven French investigators flew to the capital of Niger as part of a request for international assistance accepted by the authorities. authorities of this West African country of 23 million inhabitants.
This team, made up of six agents from the DGSI (General Directorate of Internal Security), three from the Sdat (anti-terrorism sub-directorate) and three experts from the technical and scientific police, will "try to understand what is happening. is over ”Sunday, when six French humanitarian workers from the NGO Acted and their two Nigerien guides were killed in an attack, a source familiar with the matter told 20 Minutes .
"Assist" the Nigerien investigators
The circumstances of this attack, which took place on Sunday in a nature reserve 60 km from Niamey known for its giraffes, remain unclear. Although Emmanuel Macron considers that its terrorist character is beyond doubt, the operation has still not been claimed, neither by Aqmi (Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb), nor by the EIGS (Islamic State in the Great Sahara). , very active groups in the “three borders” area, between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The French investigators "are not going to carry out the investigation in place of the Nigerien police officers, they are going to assist them", underlines a good expert of the file. They will be able, as accepted by the local authorities, to consult the minutes or to hear witnesses. Other witnesses or relatives of the victims could also be heard in France by the judicial police.
Several questions arise, to which the Nigerien investigators will have to answer with the support of their French colleagues: was it an “attack of opportunity”, as Frédéric Roussel, the co-founder of Acted thinks? Or a targeted and prepared operation? Were the attackers, who were traveling on motorcycles, specifically targeting the French? Did they want to avenge the losses inflicted in recent months on jihadist groups by the French army as part of Operation Barkhane? Make pay for the death last June of the leader of AQIM, Abdelmalek Droukdal, eliminated by the French soldiers?
Experts at the crime scene
As for the three members of the technical and scientific police, they are seasoned specialists, used to traveling in difficult areas. “They are at the service of investigators who might need additional technical support,” explains Fabrice Cotelle, chief of staff of the central service for technical and scientific police, based in Ecully, near Lyon.
Among them, a ballistician responsible for studying bullet holes and studying their trajectory. "He will be able to go through the scene with a fine comb, make comparisons of shots with several weapons", continues Fabrice Cotelle. Two other “more generalist” experts will be tasked with “looking for all traces and clues”, in particular fingerprints or DNA. "They will also reconstruct the scene by taking photos and videos in 3D to help the magistrates better understand" the course of the attack.
Society
Humanitarians killed in Niger: The Quai d'Orsay "formally advises" the French to travel to the country
World
Humanitarian workers killed in Niger: Emmanuel Macron and Jean Castex denounce a "heinous crime"
- Scientific police
- World
- DGSI
- Police
- NGO
- Niger