The US State Department on Friday advised Americans against travel to Niger, a day after authorizing the departure of family members of US government personnel in the country due to security risks.
The move followed the kidnapping of an American missionary in Niamey, the capital, on 21 October.
The victim is a pilot for the evangelical group Serving in Mission who is in his fifties and has lived in Niger since 2010.
He was seized from his residence in the Plateau neighborhood in the evening by three armed assailants who neutralized a security guard.
By some accounts, he was heading out to the airport when he was abducted.
His phone subsequently was tracked to a location 56 miles north of Niamey, an area where the vicious jihadist group Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS) operates.
IS-GS and its fierce rival, the al-Qaida offshoot Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (Support Group for Islam and Muslims – JNIM), are active in various parts of the Southern Sahara, the vast region of harsh desert terrain also called the Sahel.
The two groups have a history of kidnapping Westerners and other foreigners and treating them with great brutality before releasing them in exchange for large ransoms.
The US Embassy in Niamey the day after the 21 October incident issued a security alert concerning “a heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger” for US citizens. It said it had modified its security posture for its personnel, requiring them to use armored vehicles, imposing a mandatory curfew on them, and barring them from all restaurants and open-air markets.
Friday’s increase in the State Department’s advisory for Niger to Level 4 – Do Not Travel – went a step further.
The updated advisory noted that the Nigerien military junta has imposed emergency and movement restrictions in many regions of the country, and requires military escorts for any foreigners traveling outside Niamey.
Islamic terrorism risks have been acute in much of the Sahel for years.
Worsening the security situation still more, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso each threw out French and other foreign anti-terrorism troops after undergoing military coups from 2020 to 2023.
All three military regimes are hostile to Western investors.
The US Embassy in Mali on 28 October advised Americans to depart the country immediately using commercial aviation.
It cited “unpredictability” in the security situation arising from the armed conflict between the country’s military regime and Islamic terrorist elements around Bamako, the capital. The jihadists cut off shipments of gasoline and diesel to the city, where some public institutions were shut down amid fear of an imminent offensive against the city by the terrorists.
The US Embassy warned against overland travel out of Mali due to terrorism risks.
It advised Americans who wish to remain in Mali prepare plans for emergency situations, including sheltering in place for an extended period. It noted that it could not provide consular or emergency services to Americans outside Bamako.
This service long has discouraged in the strongest possible terms travel to Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, southern Algeria and northern Mauritania, except for heavily guarded oil, gas and mining facilities, which should be reached only by air.
