According to a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), nearly 130 individuals have been executed by Islamist insurgents in Niger through various attacks since March 2023. The report details a brutal incident in June at a mosque in the western Tillabéri region, where over 70 worshippers were killed during prayers.
Local testimonies describe gruesome scenes, highlighting the impact on families and communities in the region. This increase in violence presents significant challenges to Niger’s military junta, which assumed power following the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum in 2023, with the stated aim of combating insurgency.
The HRW report cites that around 1,600 civilians have died at the hands of Islamic State (IS) group fighters since the coup, as noted by the conflict monitoring group Acled. The insurgents have also targeted schools and religious sites, imposing strict limitations on freedoms based on their interpretations of Islam. Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior researcher at HRW, remarked on the targeting of civilians in western Niger, emphasizing the need for increased protection from Nigerien authorities.
The Nigerien military has not provided comments regarding the HRW report. In a separate incident in May, five men and two boys were killed in the Dani Fari area, where insurgents burned more than a dozen homes. Eyewitnesses described the brutality of these attacks, asserting that the military did not adequately respond to prior warnings from villagers.
No group has officially claimed responsibility for the documented attacks, but eyewitness accounts suggest that they were executed by IS fighters, identifiable by their distinct red-banded turbans. The Tillabéri region, which borders Burkina Faso and Mali, has experienced ongoing violence and remains a focal point of insurgency activities over the past decade. Niger, alongside its neighbors which are also governed by military regimes, has attempted to address the insurgent threat through an alliance, shifting away from Western alliances toward partnerships with Russia and Turkey. However, the continuous violence pressures these governments to develop more effective countermeasures.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gkx78xeg8o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss