105 civilians were killed on Saturday in western Niger, in the deadliest jihadist attack since the start of the Sahel conflict in 2012, according to a new assessment given on Thursday by the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of the UN.
• Read also: Al-Qaeda branch in the Sahel claims the death of 2 French soldiers
• Read also: 100 dead in Niger: the worst jihadist attack against civilians in the Sahel
The attack on two villages by armed men identified by the authorities as jihadists left 105 dead “including 32 in Zaroumadareye and 73 in Tchouma Bangou” as well as “26 wounded by bullets and hundreds of granaries set on fire,” he said. AFP Jean-Sébastien Josset, UNHCR spokesperson in Niamey.
Following a joint mission to the region by the Nigerien government and humanitarian actors, including the UNHCR, “the number of people who have fled their villages is now estimated at more than 10,000,” he continued.
“The populations of twelve additional villages fled in a preventive manner” to the localities of the area, Tondi Kiwindi and Mangaizé, underlined the spokesperson who specifies that “the Nigerien authorities are providing the first assistance with the distribution of food and money to meet basic needs ”.
On Saturday, the two villages in western Niger were attacked by jihadists on motorcycles, according to the story of the mayor of the rural commune that administers them. This is the heaviest toll of an attack on civilians attributed to jihadists, according to the NGO Acled, which lists the violence in the region.
The country has declared a three-day national mourning and announced a security reinforcement in the area.
The attack took place in the so-called “three borders” area on the borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, the main countries affected by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization.
Since the start of the conflict, thousands of civilians have been killed, and nearly three million have had to flee their homes in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the main affected countries, according to the UN.
Niger, in the midst of the presidential election, the second round of which will take place on February 21, is caught between the attacks of the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram and those of the Sahelian jihadist nebulae.