NIAMEY, Niger — Five Indian nationals have been kidnapped in western Niger during an armed assault last week that also claimed the lives of 12 soldiers, according to Nigerien security sources and a statement by Indian authorities reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday (April 30).
The attack occurred near the village of Sakoira, situated in the volatile tri-border region where Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali converge — an area notorious for jihadist violence. The victims were working for Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL), an Indian infrastructure company providing services to the Kandadji dam project.
All five kidnapped workers — Sanjay Mahto, Chandrika Mahto, Faljeet Mahto, Raju Kumar, and Utaam Mahto — hail from the Giridih district in the Indian state of Jharkhand, the state government confirmed. They were stationed at a power transmission site north of Sakoira when the armed group struck.
The Jharkhand state government and the Indian Embassy in Niger have both reached out to local authorities, urging swift action to secure the safe release of the hostages. A formal letter has also been sent by the Indian Ambassador to Niger to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, seeking immediate intervention.
While no group has officially claimed responsibility for the abduction, authorities suspect the involvement of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS), a group previously blamed for multiple deadly attacks in the region, including a mosque assault in March that killed 44 civilians.
Western Niger, along with neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, remains at the epicenter of a protracted jihadist insurgency that has escalated over the past decade, rooted in the aftermath of a Tuareg rebellion in Mali in 2012. Kidnappings have intensified in recent months, with an Austrian woman abducted in January and a Swiss national in April. Four Moroccan truck drivers also went missing along the Niger-Burkina Faso border earlier this year.
Efforts are ongoing to locate the missing Indian nationals and ensure their safe return.
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