NIGER: 100 Killed in Ambush by Unidentified Attackers

By CISA

TILLABÉRI, JANUARY 5, 2021(CISA) -100 people were killed, 25 wounded, and over 1,000 displaced on January 2 following attacks on two villages of Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumadareye in the west of the country.

“An estimated 1,000 people have been displaced due to the attacks on Tchamo Bangou and Zaroumadareye villages in Niger. Many of them have sought refuge in nearby towns. People fearing further attacks are also reportedly fleeing areas around the two villages,” reported the United Nations office for the Coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA), on January 4.

Some of the wounded were rushed to the Niamey and Ouallam hospitals.

The attack that took place at around noon was carried out by a group of assailants who came aboard motorcycles. The two villages are located about 120 kilometers north of the capital Niamey, in the Tillabéri region, on the border with Mali and Burkina Faso. This region known as the “three borders” has been regularly targeted for years by murderous attacks by jihadist groups.

The violence is reportedly part of a wider security crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa.