Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a group of civilians who had returned to an unstable corner of Niger from market day, killing at least 58 people and then burning grain pellets on the ground, the government said on Tuesday. There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the killings on Monday, although Islamic State extremists in the Greater Sahara group are known to be active in the Tillaberi region where the villages were attacked.
The victims returned from a large livestock market in Banibangou, near Niger’s troubled border with Mali. The alleged extremists also destroyed nearby grain sheds that had valuable food stores.
The announcement was read on Nigerian state television on Tuesday night by government spokesman Abdourahmane Zakaria, who declared three days of national mourning for the victims.
Monday’s attacks highlight the enormous security challenges facing Niger’s new president, Mohamed Bazoum, who won the election at the end of February to succeed outgoing leader Mahamadou Issoufou.
Not only are jihadists active in the Tillaberi region, but the counter-terrorism offensive against extremists has also contributed to ethnic militias, analysts say. Inter-municipal tensions have escalated as a result, especially near the border between Mali and Niger.
Monday’s attack reflects a massacre in January in which 100 people were killed in two villages in the Tillaberi region, which were not claimed by any extremist group or militia.
Extremists carry out mass attacks on Nigerian army in Tillaberi region, killing more than 70 million people December 2019 and more than 89 in January 2020. It is close to the area where four US special forces killed along with five Nigerian colleagues in 2017.