Twenty-one Italian tourists and an unspecified number of Germans have been kidnapped on the border of Niger and Chad, the Italian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. One German among the kidnapped group managed to escape and report the abduction to German authorities, said the ministry, adding it could not rule out a ransom demand.
"A group of tourists, including 21 of Italian nationality, was attacked in the late afternoon yesterday (Monday) by a group of outlaws in the desert area of south-east Niger, near the border with Chad, near Lake Chad," said a ministry statement.
The lawless border area of Niger and Chad is notorious for banditry and smuggling. Until a peace deal last year, northern Chad was the scene of a rebel uprising which spilled over the border into Niger. The Italian government advises tourists against visiting the area, which it describes as "particularly dangerous".