Spanish tourist kidnapped in Algerian Sahara desert
The man was part of a convoy crossing the southern zone near the borders of Mali and Niger, an area infested with terrorist groups.
Algerian security forces in the Sahara.
A Spanish citizen was kidnapped this week while traveling with a group in southern Algeria. According to Spanish media, he was a tourist.
Initially, the media reported that the kidnapped individual was a woman, but the EFE agency later clarified that it was, in fact, a man.
The man was traveling with a group in southern Algeria, near the borders with Mali and Niger, when he was reportedly kidnapped by a group of armed men.
No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has not yet provided further details about the incident.
Terrorists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS), or one of its affiliated factions, could be behind the kidnapping of the Spanish citizen. Since the end of the civil war in Algeria, the southern region has become a hotspot for various insurgent and jihadist groups.
The proliferation of these armed groups, which blend criminal activity with jihadism, has intensified over the past five years, a period during which former colonial powers like France have lost significant control and influence in the region.
This marks the second kidnapping in recent days. Late last week, an Austrian citizen living in Niger was abducted after a group of armed men stormed her home in Agadez.
Kidnapping European citizens has become a significant source of income for jihadist groups operating in the Sahel and Sahara regions.
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