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More than 70 people were killed in an attack on villages in Niger. That’s what the Interior Minister, Alkache Alhada, said. At least 20 other people were injured. Alhada called the attackers jihadists. In Niger and the other countries in this region, there are a number of terrorist groups that have sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda or the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS).
The attack occurred on Saturday near the Malian border in the villages of Tchombangou and Zaroumdareye. The attack is said to have been in retaliation for the killing of two fighters by villagers, the interior minister said.
Young people from the two villages had tried to form a self-defense group in the disputed area. The armed men on motorcycles are believed to have come from neighboring Mali. Nigerian authorities are following them, the interior minister said.
Niger is one of the most important transit countries for African immigrants who want to reach the Mediterranean. Along with Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Burkina Faso, Niger is part of the G5 Sahel group that wants to fight terrorist groups. In recent years, Europe had lobbied the Nigerian government to stop human trafficking. Niger is also an important partner for the EU in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region.
However, the Nigerian government has little control outside the cities, which is not only exploited by jihadist groups, but also by criminal networks. Jihadists from the Sahel area operate in the southwest of the country and the radical Islamic group Boko Haram in the southeast. Around 460,000 people have already fled.
Preliminary results of the presidential and parliamentary elections were announced in Niger on Saturday. The head of state Mahamadou Issoufou, as provided for by the constitution, will resign after his two terms. Issoufous’s ally, former Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum, ran for the ruling PNDS party and won 39.6 percent of the vote. However, like the strongest opposition candidate, Mahamane Ousmane (16.9 percent), he did not get the necessary majority of the vote. Therefore, a second round will be necessary on February 22.
