A suspect was arrested after the assassination of eight people, including six French aid workers, by armed men near Niamey, Niger's Interior Minister Alkache Alhada announced, saying that investigators had " serious leads ".
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Young French aid workers, two men and four women, were murdered on August 9 with their Nigerien driver and guide, while they were visiting the Kouré giraffe reserve, 60 km southeast of the capital where they were. based.
"Serious tracks"
“ For the moment, a suspect is in the hands of the Central Counterterrorism Service (of Niger) and investigations are continuing. We are in the process of using a certain number of equipment that he has and that he was able to use, ”the Nigerien minister said Tuesday evening in an interview with AFP. " We are currently on serious tracks, tracks which can lead us to the perpetrators of these acts (...) We have certain information which gives us indications on the probable actors of these horrible crimes (...) and we think that it will lead us to positive results ”he continued.
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Asked about Paris' decision to place all of Niger in the red zone with the exception of the capital Niamey, Alkache Alhada, replied: " We cannot say that it is a pleasure ". “ Nigeriens found this measure unfair and they demonstrated it at various levels. I say that it is a decision of a sovereign State which intends to protect its fellow citizens and here too it is legitimate ”he explained, wishing that“ this measure be lifted as soon as possible ” .
Finally, the Nigerien minister paid a vibrant tribute to the NGO Acted which employed the victims) which " has admittedly suspended its activities for the moment, but has made a commitment to continue its activities in the country anyway ". He also saluted the memory of the killed Nigerian guide, who according to him, " was not only a guide, he was also a protector of the giraffes who (there) spent all their life ".
