New drama in the Sahel. Six French people, including several members of the humanitarian organization Acted, as well as two Nigerien guides, were killed on Sunday by armed men in Niger. Perpetrated by men on motorcycles, the assault took place in the Kouré area, which is home to the last herds of West African giraffes. One of the victims was also the president of an association specializing in the observation of these animals threatened with extinction.
This is the first attack targeting Westerners in this area since it became a tourist attraction some 20 years ago. At the time, a small herd of peralta giraffes, a species that has disappeared from the rest of the planet, had found a haven of peace there by fleeing poachers and predators.
A good part of Niger is classified in red (formally discouraged) by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which emphasizes that "public places where expatriates are concentrated are particularly targeted". The Kouré area, where the tragedy took place, is classified as orange: travel is not recommended there except for imperative reasons. In 2011, two young French people, Antoine De Léocour and Vincent Delory, were kidnapped in the center of Niamey, and killed in Malian territory during a Franco-Nigerian military intervention intended to rescue them.