Two Indians killed, one abducted in bandit gang attack in Niger’s Dosso region

The Indian Embassy in Niger confirmed the incident on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, stating the attack occurred on Tuesday.

The mission said it was coordinating with local officials to repatriate the bodies and secure the safe release of the abducted individual.

According to Nigerien media reports, the victims were construction workers stationed at a site in Dosso, about 140 kilometres from Niamey, the capital.

Foreign nationals in Niger have increasingly come under threat from armed groups.

According to local media reports cited by PTI, the incident took place on July 15.

One of the deceased has been identified as 39-year-old Ganesh Karmali from Bokaro district in Jharkhand, The Indian Express reported, quoting a state government official.

Jharkhand-based activist Sikandar Ali, who is assisting in the repatriation, told the newspaper that the second victim, Krishnan, is believed to hail from a southern Indian state.

Ali also said that the abducted individual has been identified as Ranjit Singh from Jammu and Kashmir.

Several abductions have been reported this year, including those of an Austrian aid worker who had lived in Niger for over two decades, a Swiss woman kidnapped in April, and five Indian workers taken the same month.

Niger continues to battle a long-running jihadist insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

The AP report said, citing analysts, that the security situation has worsened since the military coup in July 2023, which unseated the elected government.

The junta has struggled to contain escalating violence across key regions.

June was among the deadliest months on record, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

Fighters aligned with the Islamic State launched a sweeping offensive across the Tillaberi and Dosso regions, killing over 100 civilians and reviving mass violence in rural areas.