The Niger government on Monday said at least 137 people have been killed in attacks by unidentified attackers on several villages in southwestern Niger, the bloodiest violence to hit the country in years, reported The Guardian.
The gunmen attacked Bakorat, Intazayene, and Wistane villages. The three villages are located in the arid Tahoua region near the border with Mali on Sunday.
“In treating civilian populations systematically as targets now, these armed bandits have gone a step further into horror and brutality,” Niger government spokesman Zakaria Abdourahamane said in a televised statement on Monday.
“The government condemns these brutal acts perpetrated by individuals who know neither faith nor the law,” Abdourahamane said.
The government has declared national mourning for three days starting Tuesday. The government statement said that reinforced security and sanitary measures are being taken in the region and an investigation has been launched to find those responsible for cowardly and criminal acts, and bring them before the courts.
Last week, militants killed 66 people in the Tillaberi region. They attacked a bus with civilians from the Banibangou town and then went to raid the Darey-Daye village. On the same day, 33 Malian soldiers were put to death in an attack by ISIL in the tri-border area, where the frontiers of Burkino Faso, Mali, and Niger meet.
In January, at least 100 people were killed in attacks on two Niger villages in the Mangaize district of Tillaber. The massacre, one of the worst in Niger’s history, occurred between two rounds of the country’s presidential election.
The attacks underscore the massive security challenges facing Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected in February.
According to the United Nations’ development rankings, Niger is the world’s poorest nation among 189 countries. The country is facing armed campaigns that have spread from Mali and Nigeria, killing hundreds of people and displacing nearly half a million others.
