The Austrian Foreign Ministry said a female citizen was kidnapped by unknown assailants in Niger, the military-run West African country.
She confirmed the incident to Agence France-Presse, and said that she was aware of “the possibility of the kidnapping of an Austrian woman” in Agadez, which is 900 kilometers from the capital, Niamey.
Reuters news agency reported that unknown assailants forced the woman into a four-wheel drive vehicle in the Fada area of Agadez on the edge of the Sahara Desert.
The victim is called Eva Gretzmacher, a development worker in her mid-seventies who has lived in Niger for more than two decades, according to a local media website. Agadez weather information.
Niger has not yet commented on the incident.
Air Info reported that the kidnappers showed up at Ms Gretzmacher's home with a gun and forced their way in. They did not take anything else, reports said.
Ms. Gretzmacher is said to have managed projects in the areas of education, health, women's empowerment and culture.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry said it was working with the European Union delegation and its authorities on the ground.
Niger has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for years.
The military council is under pressure for its failure to curb militant attacks, which is one of its justifications for toppling democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.
Niger, along with its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, is facing attacks from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Since the coup, Niger has urged France and other Western powers to withdraw its military bases and formed a security alliance with its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, led by the military junta.
