At least 28 civilians were killed earlier this week in violent episodes that broke out in villages of the southwest Nigernear the border with Mali, a local official said yesterday Friday (18/8), while an AFP source in the security forces warned that the death toll may become even heavier.
“So far we have counted at least 28 dead in total, but the tally may change”, said an official of the Tillaberi region, where the violent incidents broke out. Some bodies were “washed down the river” Niger, he added.
Four prefectures were affected by the violent incidents that began on August 15 and ended at noon on the 16th, according to the same source, who did not specify the reason for the outbreak of violence.
In Agiorou, one of the prefectures affected, a local official spoke of four dead and 26 wounded in attacks “with knives and guns”.
Niger’s armed forces, which ousted elected president Mohamed Bazum on July 26 and imposed a military junta, have not yet confirmed the violence..
According to AFP’s source in the security forces, “a hundred civilians” may have been killed in the so-called tri-border region (of Niger with Burkina Faso and Mali), which is often turned into a theater of attacks by the Islamic State jihadists in the Greater Sahara ( IKMS).
A member of the so-called civil society in Tillaberi district estimated that the violent incidents were due to “a cycle of retaliation between herders (members of the Pel tribe) and permanent residents (members of the Jerma tribe)” who live together in the area.
“There was an attack on herdsmen and then young armed herdsmen took their turn in retaliation (…) and this was repeated in other villages”according to this source.
Violent incidents had already erupted in late April and early May between members of the Jerma tribe and nomadic Pel herders in villages and towns washed by the Niger River, leaving dozens dead and injured and thousands displaced, according to authorities. Since then, most of the displaced have returned to their homes.
A local radio station reporter told AFP that the clashes in April and May erupted after “murders” of villagers by alleged jihadists, who also stole livestock and “imposed taxes”.
During the days of President Bazoum, the Nigerien authorities frequently conducted public awareness and information campaigns about the jihadist organizations that try to incite inter-communal conflicts.
“Possible” CEDEAO diplomatic mission
The Economic Community of West African States (CEDEAO in French, ECOWAS in English) announced yesterday Friday a “possible” diplomatic mission to Niger today, although all previous delegations of the regional organization have failed to meet with General Abduraman Chiani, the new strongman of the country after the July 26 military coup.
“It is possible that tomorrow (so today) a CEDEAO mission will go to Niger to continue the peaceful path to the restoration of constitutional order. We are ready to solve the problem diplomatically, but it takes two to tango”the organization’s commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Abdel Fattah Musa, said in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Source: News Beast
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