At least 27 people were killed during the night from Saturday to Sunday in an attack “of unheard-of barbarism” attributed to Boko Haram jihadists in south-eastern Niger, a few hours before the opening of municipal and regional elections in the country.
A massive attack
“There were officially 27 dead, wounded and some missing in this attack which is the work of Boko Haram”, told AFP an official of the department of Bosso, to which belongs the village of Toumour where took place. the attack, in the Diffa region, near the border with Nigeria. A local elected representative, who spoke of “incredible barbarism”, stressed that the village had been “60%” destroyed.
“They [les assaillants] burst in around 7 p.m. in large numbers shouting Allah akbar [Dieu est le plus grand], by shooting and setting homes on fire, ”a resident of Toumour testified on Facebook. “Boko Haram burned everything down, we lost everything, I only have the shirt I am wearing and there has been a lot of loss of life”, shouts another inhabitant in a video shot on the ruins of houses reduced to ashes.
The governor of Diffa, Issa Lémine, went to Toumour on Sunday to attend the funerals of the victims, his services told AFP. According to the UN, the Diffa region is home to 300,000 Nigerian refugees and displaced Nigeriens, fleeing the exactions of jihadists since 2015. Diffa, the regional capital of 200,000 people on the border with Nigeria, was attacked four times in May.
Boko Haram suspected
“Some victims were killed or wounded by gunshot, others charred inside the huts totally consumed by the flames of a huge fire caused by the attackers,” said the head of the department, who requested anonymity .
He said nearly a thousand houses had been set on fire, as well as the city’s central market. “The attackers, whose number is estimated at nearly 70, arrived in Toumour around 6:45 pm local time. [17 h 45 GMT] on foot, after swimming across [les eaux du lac Tchad] and raged for three hours, ”he said. “They first attacked the residence of the traditional chief who was able to escape them in extremis. ”
The jihadist group Boko Haram, born in Nigeria in 2009, has established bases on some of the multiple islets dotting Lake Chad, a vast swampy expanse on the border between Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Since 2016, the Boko Haram group has split into two factions: that of Abubakar Shekau, the group’s historic leader, and the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap), affiliated with ISIS.
The Nigerien authorities do not differentiate between members of Boko Haram and Iswap, qualifying all these jihadist fighters as elements of Boko Haram.
A real risk for the upcoming elections
This massacre came at the time of municipal and regional elections in the country and two weeks before the presidential election of December 27, which will see President Mahamadou Issoufou leave power after two terms. Some 7.4 million Nigeriens were called to elect their municipal and regional councilors in the 266 municipalities of the country, for this double ballot, postponed several times since 2016.
The offices closed at the end of the day and the vote went well across the country, according to the national electoral commission, which began to centralize the results on Sunday evening in Niamey. “These elections constitute a repetition before the legislative and presidential elections of December 27”, supposed to give rise to the first transfer of power without violence in the history of this former French colony, estimated President Issoufou. But many voters living in areas affected by the jihadist attacks that have hit the west and south-east of the country since 2015 had not been able to be registered.
Despite recurring announcements of military victories, Boko Haram and Iswap continue to crack down – groups are responsible in eleven years of insurgency for the deaths of at least 36,000 people and some two million displaced, UN says . In addition to Boko Haram, Niger has to face, in the West, on its borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, attacks from Sahelian jihadist groups, including the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS).
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
