Macron pledges to continue fight against terrorism after seven aid workers murdered in Sahel

Emmanuel Macron has pledged to continue France’s fight against terror in the Sahel after seven aid workers — six French and one Nigerien — were murdered and set on fire by gunmen on Sunday in a wildlife reserve in the west African nation of Niger. 

“Several of our compatriots and Nigeriens were cowardly murdered yesterday in Niger in a deadly attack,” the French president said on Twitter. “I share the pain of their families and loved ones. Some were hired for the most altruistic of missions: to help people.”

The aid workers were killed on Sunday morning while driving through the southwestern area of Kouré, an area famed for being home to the last remaining population of west African giraffes, about an hours drive from the capital Niamey.

The French humanitarian group ACTED issued a statement on Monday confirming the deaths of seven of their aid workers.

The group said that they were ‘horrified’ by the ‘senseless and barbaric killing’. “This heinous crime must not go unpunished, nor will it distract us from our commitment to support the people of Niger,” it said.

Kadri Abdou, the president of the Association of Kouré’s Giraffe Guides was also killed in the attack.

The area is popular with expatriates living in Niamey, as it one of the few places NGO staff are allowed to visit on days off.

It is understood that Nigerien and French forces have been combing through the reserve, searching for the gunmen. Local media reported that the US was also helping with drone surveillance and that one of the gunmen had already been found by Nigerien commandoes.

No group has claimed responsibility for the killing but groups allied to both Al Qaeda and Islamic State have both been active in the surrounding Tillaberi region.

Some 5,100 French soldiers are battling jihadist groups across the Sahel region which runs underneath the Sahara desert.