West Africa: more than 50 dead in serious attack in Niger

Armed attackers killed at least 56 people in Niger. The exact circumstances are not yet clear. There are repeated attacks in the West African country.

By Dunja Sadaqi ARD-Studio Nordwestafrika

In Niger, West Africa, gunmen killed at least 56 people and wounded 20 others. The dpa news agency reports and quotes a message from Niger’s interior minister on Saturday night.

Consequently, the attack should have occurred on two villages near the border with the neighboring state of Mali. The exact circumstances are not yet clear.

Attacks again and again

Attacks continue to occur in Niger. Numerous terrorist groups and criminal gangs are active in the West African state, especially in the border areas with neighboring states such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Chad. In mid-December alone, the Boko Haram terrorist militia set fire to hundreds of houses in a Niger village and killed several people.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and one of the main transit countries for African immigrants to Europe. This is why the desert state is the EU’s most important partner in the Sahel region in the fight against illegal immigration and the spread of terrorism in West Africa.