Niger: Gunmen shoot down 21 civilians in attack on goods envoy

Armed assailants killed 21 civilians in an attack on a goods convoy in western Niger near the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso, AFP cited officials and local sources as saying on Saturday (December 7).

The attack occurred on December 5, targeting transport vehicles traveling from the weekly market in Tera back to Bankilare, according to state broadcaster La Voix du Sahel.

Armed men intercepted the convoy in the early evening just north of Tera, the report said, adding that “several civilians (were) murdered in cold blood.”

A source confirmed the death toll, as did another source without providing additional details. State radio described the attackers as “armed bandits.”

On Friday (December 6), Tillaberi region Governor Colonel Maina Boukar attended the victims’ funeral in Tera and conveyed condolences from authorities to grieving families, state radio reported.

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Violence in a troubled region

Tera, a critical hub for freight traffic, has been the epicenter of jihadist violence in Niger, an area notorious for attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda.

Thousands of trucks carrying goods from Togo’s port of Lome to Niger pass through Tera, making it a frequent target.

In October, another convoy was ambushed in a major assault, prompting the transport workers’ union to express alarm over the increasing frequency of such attacks.

Following the July 2023 coup that ousted Niger’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum, diplomatic tensions forced the country to rely on the Togolese port, shifting routes through high-risk areas in Burkina Faso and Niger.

The Tillaberi region, where the convoy was attacked, is one of two areas where Niger’s military is conducting anti-jihadist operations. Near the borders with Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria, the nation also faces threats from Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

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Rising death toll

According to conflict monitoring group Acled, jihadist attacks have killed around 1,500 civilians and soldiers in Niger over the past year, a sharp increase from the 650 deaths recorded between July 2022 and 2023.

Niger’s security challenges remain severe, with the army frequently reporting convoy attacks attributed to “terrorists” as the country grapples with growing instability in the Sahel region.

With inputs from agencies