Crisis team convened

Terrorist militia denies abduction of Viennese woman

The terrorist militia JNIM is an affiliated al-Qaeda group based in Mali, which also extends its operations to neighboring countries such as Niger (symbolic image).(Bild: AP)

In the case of the kidnapped Viennese activist Eva G. (73), the Islamist terrorist militia JNIM, a regional offshoot of Al-Qaeda, denies being responsible for the abduction in Niger. On Monday, the group also criticized journalists and the government's security management in view of the crisis in the region.

"We have no connection to this act and reject the accusations made against us," the terrorist group said on Tuesday. JNIM described the information spread by the media that the militia has a history of kidnapping foreign citizens in the Sahel region to boost its coffers with ransom money as "lies".

No trace of kidnapped Viennese woman
The Foreign Ministry and the family of the Austrian woman said on Tuesday that the kidnappers had not yet come forward. The "silence" indicates that the kidnappers are aware that Eva G., who was born in Vienna at the end of April 1952, cannot be ransomed, said a family member. There is a great wave of solidarity in the country.

The Viennese Eva G. was kidnapped in Agadez Niger on Saturday. The search for the 73-year-old is ongoing.(Bild: sarfaraz - stock.adobe.com)

Armed men forced their way into the woman's house on Saturday and loaded her into an off-road vehicle. The Austrian woman, who has lived in Agadez for almost three decades, is regarded as a "sister" by the residents, according to the media. She has been active in Niger since 1996 with the private cultural association Amanay, which she founded, and is very well connected in Agadez on the edge of the Sahara - including with the authorities.

According to information on Facebook, she is committed to educating young people in areas such as music, health, ecology and crafts such as tailoring. In 2010, she built her own competence center for this purpose. According to the family member, she is interested in bringing cultures, religions and people together.

Crisis team set up for action
The Foreign Ministry has sent a representative from the embassy in Algeria to Niger. A crisis team has also been set up to coordinate the measures. A search operation by the local authorities is currently underway.

Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), the "Support Group for Islam and Muslims", is an affiliated al-Qaeda group based in Mali that has expanded its operations to neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal in recent years. As a formal al-Qaeda branch in Africa, JNIM is dedicated to disempowering regional governments and implementing Sharia (Islamic law) in the areas where it operates, according to the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a counter-extremism organization.