Four Europeans feared kidnapped in Niger

Officials were investigating reports today that four European tourists had been kidnapped on the Mali-Niger border.

Amadou Baba Toure, the governor of the Malian province of Gao, told the AFP news agency a group of men had taken four European tourists.

He said they were believed to be one Briton, one German and two Swiss nationals.

“We just finished the latest verification and there are a total of four European tourists kidnapped on Niger’s territory close to the border with Mali,” he said.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We have heard reports of a possible kidnapping incident on the Mali-Niger border and we are investigating.

“We cannot confirm at present whether any of those taken are British nationals or not.”

The tourists were returning from a festival of nomad culture at Anderamboukane, on the border between Mali and Niger, when they were seized, the Malian authorities told AFP.

A source in the Malian security forces said the kidnapping took place at Bani-Bangou, 60km (37 miles) from the border with Mali.

The Anderamboukane festival, which started on Tuesday and is due to finish tomorrow, takes place in January of every odd year and is billed as a “transfrontier celebration of Tuareg culture, music, sports, and crafts”.

In recent years northern Mali has been the scene of violent clashes between Tuareg rebels and the Malian army.

Last week, Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja said two Canadian diplomats – the United Nations envoy to Niger and his assistant Louis Gray – were being held in Niger by terrorist groups after being kidnapped on December 15.