Incident Date:
December 15, 2008
December 15, 2008 - April 22, 2009
Incident Successful: Yes
Location: Niamey Niger
Perpetrators: Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
Event Type: Hostage Taking (Kidnapping)
Weapon Type(s): Unknown
Organization Type: Religious,
Suicide Attack: No
Hoax: No
Violent Extremism:
Doubt Terror: No
Target Information
1- Diplomatic(Diplomats/Families/Individuals (outside of embassy))
Canadian Target: No
Canadian Victim:
Canadian Perpetrator: No
By foreigners against foreign target(s) in Canada:
Victims:
Perpetrators:
Description: "12/15/2008: Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) kidnapped four European tourists and two Canadian diplomats, Robert Fowler, then United Nations' special envoy to Niger, and his colleague, Louis Guay, in Niger, between December 2008 and January 2009. The two Canadians and two German tourists were released on 04/22/2009. AQIM later executed British hostage, Edwen Dyer, but released the last remaining hostage, Werner Greiner. The two Canadians had been dispatched to Niger with the intention of brokering a peace deal; the Tuareg rebels claimed responsibility for the incident but withdrew their statement after AQIM claimed responsibility. A group calling itself the Front des Forces de Redressement (FFR) claimed responsibility on 10/16 for the alleged 10/15 abduction. The FFR is purportedly led by Rhissa Ag Boula, an alleged dissident Tuareg insurgent leader. The statement said: “On 15 December, fighters of the Front des Forces de Redressement (FFR) carried out a commando operation in the Tillabery region in which we detained four people including a Canadian diplomat, Mr. Robert Fowler”. The Nigerian driver of the two Canadian diplomats kidnapped was released in an unspecified location in Mali on 03/21. No information was released as to the condition or potential release date of the Canadian hostages. 04/22/2009: Four of the six western hostages being held by AQIM militants in the Sahara desert were released by their captors to Malian officials in Gao on 04/22-the two Canadian diplomats kidnapped in December in Niger, and a Swiss national and German national who were kidnapped in Mali in January. A British national and another Swiss national remain hostages. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper declined to comment on whether a ransom had been paid for the release of the two Canadian citizens. Canadian police have charged perpetrator Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a fugitive al-Qaeda-aligned bandit based in the Sahara Desert, with the kidnapping of two Canadian diplomats almost five years ago. Co-accused with Malian Oumar Hamaha"
References: 1) Janes DB
2) GTD 1970-2012 data file
3) "Mickolus, Edward F. (2013). Terrorism, 2008-2012: A Worldwide Chronology. North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers. p. 52-53"
4) ITAC
Attached Files: