At least 22 people were killed by gunmen on motorbikes during a brutal attack in western Niger Republic, local media and security sources confirmed on Tuesday. Most of the victims were attending a baptism ceremony.
The massacre occurred on Monday in Takoubatt, a village in the volatile Tillaberi region near the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali — an area plagued by jihadist violence linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group.
According to a local resident who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity for security reasons, the assailants first opened fire at the baptism ceremony, killing 15 people. They then moved to the outskirts of the village, where they shot dead seven more.
Local media outlet Elmaestro TV described the incident as a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification.”
Maikoul Zodi, a prominent Nigerien human rights activist, condemned the attack in a social media post, writing: “Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair.”
The attack is the latest in a wave of violence that continues to devastate the region. Niger’s military rulers, who seized power in a 2023 coup, have so far struggled to contain insurgent groups operating in Tillaberi despite a heavy military presence.
Just last week, around 20 soldiers were killed in a separate attack in the region.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Nigerien authorities to take stronger action to protect civilians. The organization reports that IS-linked militants have “summarily executed” over 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi across five separate attacks since March.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), which monitors global conflict casualties, estimates that approximately 1,800 people have been killed in attacks across Niger since October 2024 — with nearly 75% of those deaths occurring in Tillaberi.
Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, is ruled by military juntas that have expelled French and U.S. forces previously deployed to support anti-jihadist efforts. The three countries have since adopted what they describe as a “sovereignist” security approach, seeking to assert control without foreign military assistance.
Despite these assertions, insecurity continues to rise across the Sahel, with Tillaberi remaining one of the deadliest flashpoints.
AFP
