Soldiers, Civilians Killed in Terror Attack in Niger Republic

Authorities in the Niger Republic have confirmed the killing of soldiers and civilians in a brutal attack orchestrated by suspected jihadists in the country’s Tera region.

The attackers ravaged the Chatoumane weekly market on Dec. 10. In fashion, the attack is similar to the bloody raid of a refugee camp in the Boni area of the country in May.

Colonel Amadou Abdramane, the country’s military spokesperson, said the attackers took everyone by surprise and stormed the marketplace in a situation that rendered the army and the civilians defenceless.

“Civilians who were trapped could not escape from the carnage,” he said, noting that the tragedy sparked off an immediate reaction from the Nigerien authorities who organised an emergency meeting with General Moussa Salaou Barmou, the country’s chief of army staff.

An eyewitness said the level of violence in the attack indicated that it was meticulously planned before the execution which made any resistance by the army from the attack unyielding.

“The violence of the attack which seemed to have been meticulously planned and the disproportionate number of the forces present on the ground made any resistance by the army useless,” the witness said.

Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have been facing intensifying jihadi attacks, especially from the tri-border connecting the countries in the Sahel region.

There are fears that spillover of jihadi activities from these countries could infiltrate countries such as Ghana, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire which have been largely peaceful with minimum jihadi attacks.

Local observers in Niger have confirmed that, despite backing their coups with the pretext of fighting insecurity, the military junta have not been capable of ridding jihadi attacks in Niger.

“In Niger, the number of jihadist attacks has been increasing by the day putting the populations in increasing insecurity,” one observer who pleaded anonymity said.

Jihadi groups operating in Niger include the Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’atu Nusratul Islam Wal Muslminin (JNIM), Boko Haram, and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).