German kidnapped in Niger recovered, Algeria says

Algeria said on August 8 that it had taken charge of a German citizen kidnapped about two weeks earlier in neighbouring Niger by an armed criminal group.

Algeria's defence ministry identified the man as Ulumaskan Sinan. It said he was received by the Algerian army's security services on August 7 before being flown from In Guezzam in Algeria's far south to the Boufarik military base near Algiers.

The ministry said Sinan was in “good health” and would be handed over to German authorities “at a later date”.

The statement did not give further details of the kidnapping. It said Sinan had explained the circumstances of his abduction and about two weeks of detention by his captors.

Niger has been under military rule since a July 2023 coup and has faced violence in recent years from jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.