A US missionary working for an evangelical Christian organisation has been kidnapped in Niger’s capital Niamey, the US State Department has said, in the latest kidnapping of a foreign national in the country.

The US State Department confirmed the abduction to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, saying its embassy in Niamey was doing what it could to secure the man’s safe release.

The victim, a man in his 50s, was seized on Tuesday night and was “already en route for the border with Mali”, a diplomatic source told AFP.

The Reuters news agency, citing another diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was a pilot for the evangelical organisation Serving in Mission (SIM).

SIM describes itself on its website as a “global mission family of more than 4,000 people, serving in mor

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