RIYADH: The search for those behind the murder of four Saudi tourists in Niger has been intensified, said Umru Tahiru, chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Niger.
Four Saudi tourists were killed and another two were seriously injured in an attack by unidentified assailants in northern Niger on Monday. On the instruction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the two injured Saudis and the bodies of the four were brought to Riyadh Air Base from Niger in a special air ambulance on Tuesday.
The six were traveling with two Malian nationals when they were attacked near the village of Djambala. Three of the Saudis died on the spot, while the fourth died after undergoing surgery at a hospital in Niger’s capital Niamey. All of the dead were from one family of the Aal Murrah tribe.
“Our government has deployed a special team to investigate the incident,” said the diplomat, adding that his government is waiting for the findings of ongoing investigations to take the next course of action.
The governor of the Tillabery region of Niger told a local radio station that the attack, near the village of Djambala in the remote Tillabery region, happened in a restive zone where Tuareg rebels and Al-Qaeda cells are active.
The attackers wore turbans, carried AK-47s and attempted to tie up the travelers after forcing their three-vehicle convoy to a halt. The attack has increased tensions in the Sahel region, which has already been wracked by a wave of hostage-takings. Four Westerners — three Spaniards and one Frenchman — are believed to be in Mali and held hostage by Al-Qaeda operatives.
The two survivors, Ziad bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh and Faraj bin Hamad Al-Marri, were brought to the Kingdom and are at the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital.
Prince Khaled bin Saud, undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who received the bodies and the wounded tourists at the airbase on Tuesday, said investigations are still ongoing to understand the motive behind the attack and find those responsible.
Prince Khaled said a Saudi investigation team is to go to Niger to assist police and that the Kingdom would also seek the cooperation of Interpol to resolve the issue.
He said the tourists were attacked after they stopped to perform predawn prayers. He said although Al-Qaeda was present in the area, there was no proof the group was involved. “It appears to us so far that it was a robbery,” he said.
Shortly after the attack, Malian authorities announced the arrest of three suspects in a car near the Malian border. They are being questioned.
