The attack took place on Monday in the Tillaberi region, which borders Burkina Faso and Mali, an area where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Group (IS) are active.
A resident told AFP that 15 people were first killed at the Baptism ceremony in the Takoubatt village.
The motorcycle gunmen killed at least 22 villagers in the west of the Republic of Niger during a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.
“The attackers then went outside of Takoubatt, where seven other people killed,” said the resident, who asked not to be appointed for security reasons.
The local media Elmaestro TV reported a “horrible death toll of 22 innocent people killed without reason or justification.”
“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been beaten by barbarism, sinking innocent families in mourning and despair,” said Nigerien’s human rights activist Maikoul Zodi, on social networks.
Niger’s military leaders, who confiscated power in a coup d’etat two years ago, have fought to contain jihadist violence in Tillaberi, despite a strong presence of the army. Some 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.
Human Rights Watch has asked the authorities to “make more to protect” civilians from such mortal attacks.
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The group says that the Islamic State has “summarily executed” more than 127 Muslim villagers and worshipers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.
The Aclicada NGO, which tracks the casualties of conflict worldwide, reports that around 1,800 people have been killed in Niger since October 2024, with three quarters of those deaths in Tillaberi.
Niger, along with his neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, is under the military government. The three countries, who say they are following a sovereign policy, have expelled the French and American forces who had been supporting them against jihadist groups.
(AFP)
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