Two European aid groups said on Monday that seven of the eight people killed by gunmen in a giraffe park in Niger were aid workers working for them in the West African country. The six French citizens and one Nigerian who were killed on Sunday worked for Paris-based NGO ACTED and Geneva-based IMPACT initiatives, they said in a joint statement on Monday. The other victim was her Nigerian guide.
They condemned “in the strongest terms the senseless and barbaric murder of our colleagues and their manual.” ACTED said the group “laf was killed by gunmen.”
The Niger Interior Ministry said on Sunday that the attack took place in Koure, where aid workers were visiting a giraffe reserve. Hundreds of people visit the protected national park each year, which contains dense vegetation and tall trees about 70 45 miles southeast of the capital.
BOUREIMA HAMA
“Our colleagues have worked to support the people of Niger who are facing hardship, driven by values of humanity and solidarity,” the NGOs said. They have not worked out.
One of France’s largest NGOs, ACTED has been present in Niger since 2010 and provides assistance to displaced people and local populations who are particularly vulnerable due to conflicts in the region, lack of food and drought.
A partner for ACTED, IMPACT initiatives was first deployed in Niger. It conducts folder programs and other initiatives in camps that host displaced populations.
In a phone call on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron and Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou met on Sunday evening to clarify the circumstances of the deadly attack by “all means”, the French presidency said.
The French government has warned citizens against traveling outside the capital Niamey, as militants linked to Boko Haram, Islamic State and al-Qaeda are still carrying out attacks across the entire West African nation. Niger borders several countries including Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria and Libya.
Violence by groups linked to ISIS and al-Qaeda is on the rise in the Sahel region. France has deployed 5,100 troops to help fight the growing insurgency there, and a local Sahel force consisting of soldiers from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania has also fought the extremists.
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