Gunmen onslaught leaves 58 civilians dead in border area of Niger

The victims had been returning home from a market near the Malian border. The incident highlights the enormous security challenges in the region.Fifty-eight civilians were killed by gunmen on motorcycles in a volatile corner of Niger, the government said Tuesday. (PIC-UNI)

On Monday afternoon, "groups of armed, still unidentified individuals intercepted four vehicles carrying passengers back from the weekly market of Banibangou to the villages of Chinedogar and Darey-Daye," the government said in a statement read out on public television.

"The toll from these barbarous acts [is] 58 dead, one injured, a number of grain silos and two vehicles burned and two more vehicles seized," it added. 

A local resident told the AFP news agency that the raids began with an attack on a bus in which "around 20 people were killed."

Just a few kilometers from the Malian border in the major market town, people were killed while shopping, another resident told AFP.  

No one has claimed responsibility for the massacre. The government announced three days of national mourning from Wednesday.

Security challenges

The Tillaberi region, where the attack took place, is located in the "tri-border area" where the frontiers of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali converge. 

The region is plagued by jihadist activity which is made worse by counterterrorism offensives that help give rise to ethnic militias, analysts say.  Particularly near the border between Mali and Niger, intercommunal tensions have been aggravated as a result.

In January this year, in Tillaberi region, around 100 civilians were killed in attacks after the first round of presidential elections.

Some militants belonging to the Islamic State are reportedly active in this reason.

The country is part of the larger Sahel region in West Africa, which has witnessed frequent militants attack. In 2014, France launched the 5,000-strong Operation Barkhane to check the terrorist threat in the region. In addition to the French forces, the operation involves the troops of the G5-Sahel member states — Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania.