The government of Niger Republic has confirmed the deaths of 44 civilians in a terrorist attack on Fambita village in the Tillabéri region.
The government attributed the assault to militants of the
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, ISGS.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert focused on the
Lake Chad region, disclosed this in a post on his X handle.
At least 44 civilians were killed in a brutal attack by militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, ISGS, in Fambita, a village in Niger’s volatile Tillabéri region.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the
attack occurred on Friday while Muslim worshippers were observing prayers
during the holy month of Ramadan.
The assailants, heavily armed, surrounded the mosque before
launching their assault.
“These terrorists, in an act of extreme cruelty, massacred
innocent civilians at prayer before systematically setting fire to the market
and homes during their retreat,” the statement, broadcast on national
television, said.
The attack also left 13 people injured, including four in
critical condition. In response to the tragedy, the government has declared a
72-hour national mourning period from Saturday, 23rd March, during which flags
will be flown half-mast across the country.
The Minister of State and Acting Minister of the Interior,
Army Corps General Salifou Modi, strongly condemned the attack, calling it a
“heinous act committed on a Friday, the holy day of Islam, in the last ten days
of the blessed month of Ramadan.”
He further stated that the attack demonstrated that
“terrorists and their supporters do not uphold any religious ideals.”
The government has vowed that “these heinous crimes will not
go unpunished,” pledging to track down the perpetrators, their sponsors, and
their accomplices to bring them to justice.
The massacre comes just two days after the Nigerien military
carried out an air-to-ground raid targeting suspected EIGS militants at the
Kiral gold mining site in the same region.
The operation reportedly resulted in the deaths of 45
suspected terrorists, according to an official statement.
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