Kirk Woodman had been abducted by gunmen at mining site near border with Niger

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A Canadian kidnapped this week in a restive region of Burkina Faso has been found dead, a spokesman for the security ministry has said.

Kirk Woodman was abducted after nightfall on Tuesday by a dozen gunmen at a mining site owned by the Vancouver-based Progress Minerals in the country’s north-east near the border with Niger, an area the government had said was under growing threat from armed jihadists.

“It’s the Canadian who was found last night in the province of Oudalan,” said the spokesman.

A statement from Progress Minerals said the company was heartbroken by Woodman’s death. The chief executive, Adam Spencer, said: “Kirk was an incredibly accomplished and highly respected geologist with a career spanning over 30 years, with 20 years spent in west Africa. More importantly, Kirk was a kind person, a dedicated father and husband and considered a friend by all who knew him.”

His death will increase concerns that the influence of violent groups with links to al-Qaida and Islamic State has spread uncontested into Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali and Niger.

There has been a surge in attacks by militants in the country in recent months. A state of emergency has been in effect in several northern provinces since 31 December.

The Canadian foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said on Wednesday the government was aware that a Canadian was missing in Burkina Faso and that it was working with local authorities.

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Earlier this month a Canadian woman and an Italian man went missing in Burkina Faso. They have not been heard of since.

Security has deteriorated over the last few years across the remote and arid Sahel region just south of the Sahara. In response, the US, France and other European powers have sent troops and equipment to help counter the threat from Islamist militants.

Tuesday’s kidnapping occurred on the third anniversary of an attack at a hotel in the centre of the capital, Ouagadougou, that killed dozens, shocking a country that until then had largely been spared the violence that had plagued its neighbours.

• This article was amended on 17 January 2019. The original incorrectly stated that a Canadian man and Italian woman had gone missing earlier this month. The man who went missing, Luca Tacchetto, is Italian, and the woman, Edith Blais, is Canadian.