Al-Qaeda-linked group says they have two ‘Russian hostages’: Video

An al-Qaeda-linked group in Niger released a video Friday in which two men identifying themselves as Russians said they had been kidnapped in Mbanga, in the southwest of the country.

In the video released by the coalition Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), one man identified himself as Yurit, a geologist born in Russia but living in Ukraine.

The second said he was Greg, who had arrived in the country a month ago.

Both men, speaking in English, said they were working for Russian companies there.

The video was not itself dated and neither man indicated when they had been abducted.

On July 25, Russia advised its citizens against travelling to Mali and Niger because of the security situation there. Both countries are fighting a extremist insurgency.

Mbanga, is in the Tillaberi region near Niger’s borders with Burkina Faso and Mali. Several gold mines are located there.