AFRICA/NIGER - More than 100 people die in attacks on two villages

Niamey (Agenzia Fides) – About one hundred people died on January 2 in Niger in attacks on two villages in the west of the country, in Tchoma Bangou, where 70 people were killed, and in Zaroumadareye, where 30 people were killed. Another 25 people were wounded, some of whom were bundled up in the Niamey and Ouallam hospitals.
The attack, which has not been claimed, was carried out by terrorists who came aboard about a hundred motorcycles. To attack the two villages (7 kilometers apart), the attackers split into two groups. The two villages are located about 120 kilometers north of the capital Niamey, in the Tillabéri region, on the border with Mali and Burkina Faso. This region known as the "three borders" has been regularly targeted for years by murderous attacks by jihadist groups.
The double attack was committed in broad daylight, around noon, at the same time as the proclamation of the results of the first round of the presidential elections on December 27, in which the ruling party candidate, Mohamed Bazoum (with 39.33% of the votes cast) was in the lead. During the election campaign, the former interior minister promised to intensify the fight against jihadist groups.
In Niger, on the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, there are repeated attacks by groups associated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The violence is part of a wider security crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa. In neighboring Mali, five soldiers of the French intervention force lost their lives in two different attacks in one week. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 4/1/2021)

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