An al Qaeda federate in the Western African Sahel region of Niger has taken two Russian citizens hostage, according to a video released by the group on Friday.
The video released from the media foundation of Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) included what seems to be on-camera statements by the two captives. In the video, the abductees said they had been working for a Russian company in southwest Niger when they were taken prisoner.
The duo had spoken in Russian-accented English while identifying themselves as Russians and they further revealed that they were taken hostage in Mbanga, an area about 60 km west of the capital Niamey. They however, had not said when this happened during the course of the video.
One of the captives had identified himself as Yuri, saying he was a geologist, while the other gave his name as Greg and said he had only just arrived in Niger for work a month ago.
At the time of filing this report, it was not clear when the video was filmed or where and the video did not include a ransom demand.
Russia’s foreign ministry had yet to reply to a request for comment at press time but a security source in Niger, speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that the two captives were taken about a week ago while visiting gold mines.
Mbanga is located in the gold-rich Tillaberi region, where Islamist militants allied to al Qaeda and the Islamic State are active in insurgencies that have destabilised vast territories in Niger, and in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.
