No tourists are welcome. They provide only an opportunity to “strike terror in the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60). That they were aid workers is of no importance. As far as jihadis are concerned, the aid that infidels offer is only an attempt to entice Muslims away from Islam. Accordingly, it should not be received with gratitude, but with increased suspicion and hostility, which inevitably leads in some cases to violence.
“French NGO workers among eight killed by gunmen in Niger, local governor says,” France 24, August 9, 2020:
Six French citizens and their local guide and driver were killed Sunday by gunmen riding motorcycles in an area of southwestern Niger that is home to the last West African giraffes, officials said.
It is believed to be the first such attack on tourists in the area, a popular attraction in the former French colony thanks to its unique population of West African or Niger giraffes….
Six French tourists killed in Niger are aid workers, confirms Paul Melly from Chatham House.
“There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, while the other six are French,” the governor of the Tillaberi region Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella told AFP….
A source close to the environmental services said the assault took place at around 11:30 am (1030 GMT) six kilometres (four miles) east of the town of Koure, which is an hour’s drive from the capital Niamey.
‘Most of the victims were shot’
“Most of the victims were shot… We found a magazine emptied of its cartridges at the scene,” the source told AFP.
“We do not know the identity of the attackers but they came on motorcycles through the bush and waited for the arrival of the tourists.”
The source added that the tourists’ vehicle belonged to the French humanitarian organisation ACTED….
The region has become a hideout for Sahel jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
The use of motorcycles has been totally banned since January in an attempt to curb the movements of such jihadists.