MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2020) French investigators probing the recent killings in the Nigerien wildlife reserve suggested the ambush was aimed at Westerners in general, rather than specifically members of the NGO Acted, BMTV broadcaster reported on Friday.
Last Sunday, gunmen on motorcycles shot dead a group of eight people � six humanitarian workers of French origin and two Nigeriens, a driver and a guide � in the Koure giraffe park in southwestern Niger.
French counterterrorism prosecutors launched a murder probe and an investigating team left for Niger.
According to the BMTV sources, the murder was most likely committed on the grounds of origin rather than professional affiliation.
As the probe is still underway, the Nigerien authorities have extended the state of emergency in the southwestern Tillabery region, where the Koure Giraffe Reserve is located, and suspended access to the reserve.
