Islamist militants killed at least 44 civilians and seriously wounded 13 people in an attack on a mosque in southwestern Niger on Monday, Reuters reported, citing the Nigerien Ministry of Defense.
The attack took place during afternoon prayers in the village of Fombita, which is located near the border between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. This region is the epicenter of the jihadist movement in West Africa, which is linked to “Al Qaeda” and “Islamic State“.
According to the Ministry of Defense, a group affiliated with “Islamic State“ was responsible for the attack.
Heavily armed jihadists surrounded a mosque where worshippers had gathered for afternoon prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The jihadists carried out an “extremely brutal massacre“, the ministry said. The attackers then set fire to a market and houses before withdrawing from the village.
According to preliminary information from military personnel deployed on the scene, 44 civilians were killed and 13 were seriously injured. Niger has declared three days of mourning.
The jihadist movement in West Africa was created after Islamist fighters seized territory in northern Mali following a Tuareg uprising in 2012, Reuters recalls. It then spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso and has recently spread to northern Togo and Ghana.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions forced from their homes as the extremist groups have grown and attacked cities, villages, military and police posts.
The failure of governments to restore security was part of the reason for two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger from 2020 to 2023. All three countries remain under military rule despite international pressure to hold elections. After the coups, the new authorities withdrew from these countries' traditional Western allies and sought military support from Russia.