Reports indicate that at least 22 individuals lost their lives in a suspected militant assault on a village in Niger, near the Mali border.
According to a local official speaking to AFP news agency, assailants on motorcycles arrived in Motagatta village in the Tillaberi region on Sunday, indiscriminately shooting at the residents.
The responsible party behind the attack remains unclear, and as of now, the Niger junta has not issued any comments regarding the incident.
Such violent incidents are unfortunately not uncommon in Niger, where insurgencies have been on the rise since 2015. Last year alone, nearly 40 soldiers lost their lives in separate attacks near the Burkina Faso border.
Military leaders, who executed a coup last year, justified their actions by pointing to the precarious security situation. In December, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the leader of the coup, claimed that the situation was progressively normalising after what he described as the army’s numerous successes in suppressing unrest. However, despite these assertions, attacks persist.
French troops have exited Niger following an order from the country’s military leaders.
