In the case of the kidnapped Viennese activist Eva G. (73), the Islamist-terrorist militia JNIM, a regional branch of Al Qaeda, denied being responsible for the kidnapping in Niger. The group also criticized journalists and the government’s security management on Monday amid the crisis in the region.
“We have no connection with this act and reject the allegations against us,” the terror group said on Tuesday. JNIM described the information spread by the media as “lies” that the militia has a history of kidnapping foreign citizens in the Sahel region to replenish their coffers for ransom.
There is no trace of the kidnapped Viennese woman
The Foreign Ministry and the Austrian’s family said on Tuesday that the kidnappers had not yet come forward. The ‘silence’ suggests that it was clear to the kidnappers that Eva G., a Viennese woman born at the end of April 1952, could not be redeemed, according to a family member. There is a great wave of solidarity in the country.
Armed men broke into the woman’s home on Saturday and put her in an SUV. The Austrian, who has lived in Agadez for almost three decades, is seen as a ‘sister’ by the residents, the media write. She has been active in Niger since 1996 with the private cultural association Amanay, which she founded, and has very good connections in Agadez on the edge of the Sahara – including with the authorities.
According to information on Facebook, she is committed to educating young people, for example in areas such as music, health, ecology or crafts such as tailoring. For this purpose, it built its own competence center in 2010. According to the family member, it is about encounters between cultures, religions and people.
Crisis team set up for measures
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a representative from the embassy in Algeria to Niger. A crisis team was also set up to coordinate the measures. A search operation at the scene by local authorities is underway, the report said.
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), the “Support Group for Islam and Muslims”, is a Mali-based affiliated al-Qaeda group that has expanded its activities into neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years and Senegal has expanded. As a formal al-Qaeda branch in Africa, JNIM is committed to disempowering regional governments and implementing Sharia (Islamic law) in the areas in which it operates, says anti-extremism organization Counter Extremism Project (CEP).
Source: Krone
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