France to increase security in the Sahel after six aid workers killed in Niger ambush

French President Emmanuel Macron said efforts would be made to improve security for the country’s citizens in the Sahel after six French aid workers were killed in Niger.

Two Nigerien guides were also killed when the group was ambushed by militants on Sunday.

Mr Macron said his government would continue to fight against extremist groups in the region.

“We will do everything we can to support the families of the victims and to respond to the attack that cost the lives of six of our compatriots and two Nigeriens,” he tweeted.

“These six young people, who were members of the NGO Acted, showed extraordinary commitment to the local population.

“I have decided to step up security measures for our citizens in the region. We will continue in our action to eradicate the terrorist groups, with the increased support of our partners.”

Acted, a humanitarian group in Paris, said four men and four women, aged between 25 and 50, were killed.

The group was attacked while driving through a giraffe reserve 65 kilometres from Niger’s capital Niamey, an area the government considers to be safe.

Marie-Pierre Caley, Acted’s co-founder, said the group left Niamey on Sunday morning and reported their arrival at the reserve an hour later.

An internal army memo suggested the attack took place within an hour of their arrival. No group has claimed responsibility for the ambush.

Niger’s government extended a state of emergency to the region surrounding the capital and barred people from entering the giraffe reserve after the attack.

The office of France’s antiterrorism prosecutor said it would open an investigation.

“Our determination to combat armed terrorist groups is resolute. The fight continues,” Mr Macron tweeted.

About 5,100 French troops are in the Sahel, helping in the fight against an insurgency in the region.

At the end of June, Mr Macron went to Mauritania for talks with representatives from Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger.

An insurgency began in Mali in 2012 when a rebellion in the north of the country was hijacked by Ansar Dine, a group linked to Al Qaeda.

French intervention in the country wrested control of the northern city of Timbuktu, but the conflict spread to central Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.