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The kidnap of a pioneering American missionary on 14 October is a ‘terrible tragedy’ for the communities he served for 24 years, according to the local mayor, and it has raised security concerns among the country’s missionary community.

Jeff Woodke, 55, who worked for a branch of the US-based Youth With a Mission, was abducted by unknown assailants from the town of Abalak in northern Niger. They killed two guards and he was taken to eastern Mali where Mujao – a radical Islamic group – have a stronghold.

Eight young people were shot and three killed when an unidentified gunman opened fire outside a Christian radio station in Mali on 17 December.

The motive for the attack on the Tahanint radio station in Timbuktu is unknown, but witnesses described the gunman as a turbaned Tuareg. Tahanint, which means ‘mercy’ in the local dialect, had just finished broadcasting for the day when the eight were shot outside the building. The radio station is closely linked with a local Baptist church and evangelical mission.