6 humanitarian workers kidnapped in central Niger

Six persons working with a Nigerien NGO for humanitarian purposes were kidnapped overnight by armed men in the landlocked African country's central region of Dakoro, local authorities said Monday. The six humanitarian workers of the "Well-being of Nigerien Women and Children" include their driver and a Chadian. They were travelling in a Toyota 4x4 on a mission when heavily armed assailants raided the vehicle and took them hostages. The region is in the neighborhood of Tahoua bordering northern Mali in the west. Rebels linked to the Al-Qaida branch in North Africa (AQIM) have taken the northern part of Mali since April in the aftermath of the March 22 military coup. AQIM has threatened to kill four French hostages taken in Niger two years ago if France supports a military intervention being planned by the West African bloc ECOWAS.