According to the first elements provided by the French investigators from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), the attack of August 9 in Niger seems "to have been premeditated" with the objective of "targeting Westerners". Logically therefore, the investigation opened in Paris was entrusted Tuesday to anti-terrorism judges. This judicial information was opened for "assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise", according to a source National Antiterrorist Prosecutor's Office (Pnat).
Young French aid workers, two men and four women, were murdered with their Nigerien driver and guide by armed men on motorcycles while they were visiting the Kouré giraffe reserve, 60 km southeast of the capital Niamey where they were based.
A suspect arrested
On August 19, Nigerien Interior Minister Alkache Alhada announced that a suspect had been arrested. “We are currently on serious leads, leads that can lead us to the perpetrators of these acts (…) We have certain information which gives us indications on the probable actors of these horrible crimes (…) and we think that is fine with us lead to positive results, ”he said.
Aged 25 to 31, the six French victims were sent by the NGO Acted to Niger, where they notably came to the aid of displaced populations while the French force Barkhane struggled to contain the jihadist threat in the Sahel despite success on field. After the attack, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed all of Niger with the exception of the capital Niamey in a red zone, ie "formally discouraged".
Society
A kitty launched by a friend of Myriam Dessaivre, one of the victims in Niger
World
"The whole of France is in mourning for your children", declares Jean Castex during the tribute ceremony to the humanitarians killed in Niger
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