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At least two Indian nationals have been shot dead and another abducted by gunmen in Niger’s Dosso region, as attacks targeting foreigners continue to rise in the West African nation.
The victims were working at a construction site in Dosso, about 140 kilometres (87 miles) from the capital Niamey, according to local media reports. The incident took place on Tuesday but was confirmed by Indian authorities on Friday.
In a statement shared on X, the Indian Embassy in Niger said it was in close contact with local authorities to repatriate the bodies of those killed and ensure the safe release of the kidnapped individual.
Foreigners in Niger have increasingly become targets for armed groups amid the country’s ongoing security crisis.
This year alone, several abductions have been reported, including that of an Austrian aid worker who has lived in Niger for more than two decades, a Swiss woman seized from her home in April and five Indian workers kidnapped earlier the same month.
Niger has long battled a deadly jihadist insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Analysts say the security situation has deteriorated further since the military coup that toppled the elected government in July 2023.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project recorded June as one of Niger’s deadliest months in recent years, with IS-backed fighters launching a large-scale offensive across the Tillaberi and Dosso regions that left more than 100 civilians dead.
The violence marked a grim return to mass killings in rural communities already battered by years of conflict.
