Wüstenschiff

It’s been more than a month since Jeffery Woodke was abducted from his home in Abalak in the west-central Tahoua region of Niger and there has been no new information [...] According to a U.S. Embassy in Niger press release, he was kidnapped by an unknown group of assailants Oct. 14. [...] Woodke has 29 years of experience working in Niger but before going on the mission there, he lived in McKinleyville. He graduated from Humboldt State University with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management and a master’s degree in environmental systems and international development. Woodke was an instructor at Redwood Coast School of Missions, run by Arcata First Baptist Church, for more than 20 years [...] “The American citizen works with a locally-based aid organization, JEMED. At the time of the abduction, two other men were killed including a local Tuareg night guard and a national guard. It is not known where he has been taken and no group has yet claimed responsibility for his abduction,”

Aujourd'hui, sa famille, ses collaborateurs, rendent public un message et veulent prendre contact avec les ravisseurs.
Dans la déclaration, c'est l'épouse du travailleur humanitaire américain qui s'adresse aux ravisseurs : « Nous sommes prêts à vous parler et travailler ensemble pour résoudre la situation d'une manière positive pour nous tous ». Et d’ajouter : « Appelez-moi s'il vous plaît. Je suis prête à vous parler. »

Der aktuelle Oxfam-Bericht „Red gold and fishing in the Lake Chad Basin“ beschreibt, welche Folgen der Ausnahmezustand auf den Alltag der Menschen in der Region hat: Im Zuge der Notstandsregelung wurden in Diffa Märkte geschlossen, die Fischerei im Tschadsee untersagt und der Nachschub an Düngemitteln und Treibstoff beschränkt. Damit fehlen dringend benötigte Ressourcen für den Anbau von Pfeffer, der wegen seiner wichtigen Rolle für die regionale Exportwirtschaft auch als "rotes Gold" bezeichnet wird. Der grenzüberschreitende Handel zwischen Niger und Nigeria ist fast völlig zum Erliegen gekommen.

Niamey – Bei einem Angriff auf eine Militärpatrouille sind in Niger 15 Soldaten getötet und 19 weitere verletzt worden. Die Soldaten seien am Mittwoch im Westen des Landes von "terroristischen Elementen" attackiert worden, teilte ein Armeesprecher am Donnerstag mit. Die Soldaten hätten versucht, "flüchtende Terroristen zu neutralisieren". Nähere Angaben zur Herkunft der Angreifer und ihrer Zahl machte er nicht. Die tödliche Attacke erfolgte demnach im Gebiet von Ouallam nahe der Grenze zu Mali.

According to RFI, "several dozen" attackers stole seven pickup trucks and set fire to four other vehicles. They then fled northeast, towards the border with Mali.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

So far little is known, or at least being divulged, about Woodke’s condition or whereabouts, other than that this captors were tracked to neighbouring Mali by Nigerien authorities.

No group has publicly claimed responsibility.

His family said they have been in contact with US authorities and a foreign hostage negotiator. Although a couple of ransom demands have since been received – one asking for $10 million prisoner release – they said both demands were determined by authorities to be bogus.

Niger has declared a state of emergency in several western areas flanking Mali after a spate of deadly attacks blamed on jihadists from its restive neighbour. A government statement read on state television yesterday said a state of emergency would be enforced in seven departments of the regions of Tillaberi and Tahoua. Security forces would now be granted additional powers including the right to search homes at any time, it said. The statement said repeated attacks in these areas “have endangered the security of the peaceful population and public order.”

Thousands of people marched in Niger's capital of Niamey on Saturday against the government of President Mahamadou Issoufou, calling for improved living conditions and the release of "political prisoners".

The west African country has been buffeted by falling prices for both oil and uranium, two of its main exports, as it struggles against jihadist attacks.

Protesters flooded the streets of Niamey chanting anti-regime slogans before holding a meeting in front of parliament, where they shouted "Life is too hard" and "Leave, that's enough".

The ministry says the attack by armed suspected extremists early Monday in Wanzarbe in the Bankilare department also left one gendarme wounded. The ministry says on television that forces are in the zone to combat any suspected extremists still there. No further details have been released.

Nach gut einer Woche scheinen die Massenproteste der Studenten in Nigers Hauptstadt Niamey Wirkung zu zeigen: Der nigrische Bildungsminister Ben Omar Mohamed tauscht mit sofortiger Wirkung das Amt mit dem bisherigen Arbeitsminister Yahouza Sadissou. Dies entschied Präsident Mahamadou Issoufou am Dienstagabend (18.04.2017) per Dekret. "Diese technische Umstrukturierung erwächst aus der Notwendigkeit, die der Präsident sah, den Frieden im Bildungssektor nach den in jeder Hinsicht bedauerlichen Ereignissen vom 10. April wiederherzustellen", wird Gandou Zakara, Generalsekretär der nigrischen Regierung, in einer Pressemitteilung zitiert.

Zwei Selbstmordattentäterinnen haben in Niger in einem UNO-Flüchtlingscamp zwei Menschen getötet und elf weitere verwundet. Das Flüchtlingslager beherberge tausende Menschen, die vor der islamistischen Terrorgruppe "Boko Haram" geflüchtet sind. Es handelt sich laut der UNO-Flüchtlingsagentur (UNHCR) um den ersten Selbstmordanschlag in der Region seit einem Jahr.

The wife of a pioneering American missionary abducted nine months ago in Africa’s Sahel region has put out a video pleading for his safe return.

In the 2’26” video released today (11 July), Els Woodke expresses her despair and desire to be in touch with her husband’s kidnappers.

Jeff Woodke, who was working for Jeunesse en Mission Entraide et Developpement, a branch of the US-based Youth With a Mission, was abducted by unknown assailants late in the evening of Friday 14 October, 2016, from the town of Abalak in northern Niger.

Bei einem Angriff auf eine Militärpatrouille im Südwesten Nigers sind fünf einheimische Soldaten sowie drei Soldaten eines US-Sondereinsatzkommandos getötet worden. Zwei weitere US-Soldaten wurden bei dem Vorfall in dem westafrikanischen Land verletzt.

The Islamic militants came on motorcycles toting rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns, killing four American service members after shattering the windows of the unarmored U.S. trucks. In this remote corner of Niger where the Americans and their local counterparts had been meeting with community leaders, residents say the men who came to kill that day had never been seen there before. "The attackers spoke Arabic and Tamashek, and were light-skinned," Baringay Aghali, told The Associated Press by phone from the remote village of Tongo-Tongo. Who were these men and how did they know the Americans would be there that day? No extremist group has claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush on Oct. 4 and the languages reportedly spoken by the jihadists are used throughout the Sahel including Tamashek, spoken by ethnic Tuaregs [...] The Niger attack appears to be the work of the Islamic State of the Sahel, a splinter group of extremists loyal to the Islamic State group who are based just across the border in Mali, according to interviews with U.S. officials and authorities here in the vast Sahel region bordering the Sahara Desert. It is led by Adnan Abu Walid who built ties with various extremists before forming his own group. Some officials believe Walid's militants are also holding an American, Jeffery Woodke, who was abducted in Niger a year ago. A rebel leader approached by Niger authorities to conduct negotiations for his release confirmed that Walid's group is holding Woodke, who had spent 25 years as an aid worker in Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world.