Geneva: A Swiss woman has been kidnapped in the same Niger city that saw the abduction of an Austrian three months ago, officials told AFP on Monday.
The foreign ministry said it had been "informed of the kidnapping of a Swiss citizen, believed to be in her 60s and a longtime resident" in the west African country.
"The Swiss diplomatic mission in Niamey is in contact with the local authorities. Clarifications are under way."
The governor of the central Nigerien state of Agadez, General Ibra Boulama Issa, said the woman was abducted late Sunday from her home in Agadez city, where an Austrian woman, Eva Gretzmacher, 73, was also kidnapped three months ago.
Gretzmacher was herself a longtime resident of Agadez, a UNESCO world heritage venue and historical city once at the crossroads of regional trade.
It has, however, been largely deserted by tourists since the 1990s owing to insecurity in the region.
The US army closed a drone surveillance base there in March 2024, handing it back to local forces to complete its withdrawal of a small troop contingent in the country.
Since taking power, Niger's military leaders have broken off relations with France and expelled French as well as US anti-jihadist forces.
Along with its two neighbours and allies, Burkina Faso and Mali, also governed by military juntas and likewise mired in insecurity, Niger has lately moved closer to Russia.
- -In a statement, Issa said he had held an emergency meeting of the regional security council to analyse the situation and "determine what actions to take and to understand what really occurred".
Niger's army in late January said it had recovered four lorries used by Moroccan drivers who went missing near the border with Burkina Faso.
That kidnapping struck in an area where jihadists, notably loyal to Islamic State, operate.
The poor country, led by a military junta since a July 2023 coup which overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum, is roiled by insecurity and suffers regular attacks by various armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
According to local media Air-Info, the abducted Swiss woman was born in Lebanon and "settled in Agadez several years ago after a stay in Algeria", where she was involved in tourism.
She reportedly founded an association in Agadez to provide help to craftsmen, Air-Info added.
Journalist Amele Debey, who interviewed the woman in 2018, told AFP she is "very friendly, very warm, engaged in many humanitarian works" and was married to a Nigerien camel breeder.
Debey said that when they last spoke in 2020 "she did not speak to me about any particular worries".
