Three government officials and a military personnel accompanying them were killed in southeastern Niger during an attack carried out by armed assailants from neighboring Nigeria, according to sources cited by French Press Agency reporters on Sunday, from official and local sources.
The army, in a statement without specifying the victims’ identities, said, “Armed assailants from Nigeria attacked a vehicle, resulting in the killing of four individuals.”
Local sources reported that the victims were government employees and a soldier accompanying them during a mission in the Diffa region, southeast of the country.
The Diffa region, whose capital bears the same name, has witnessed bloody attacks since 2015, carried out by fighters from Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The army confirmed that the attackers “then fled towards Nigeria.” The Diffa area overlooks Lake Chad.
Lake Chad, with its sprawling marshes and small islands, some of which serve as jihadist strongholds, lies between Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
The army explained that the “decline” in the water level of the Komadougou Yobe River currently provides “multiple crossing points from Nigeria” for “ISWAP terrorists to attack peaceful users” of the main national road where the attack occurred.
The Komadougou Yobe River waters serve as a barrier in Diffa to confront jihadists coming from Nigeria. This river serves as a natural border between the two countries.
After the terrorist attack, authorities in the region strictly banned “until further notice” all-terrain vehicles from “moving without military escort” on the road linking the towns of Maine-Soroa and Diffa, a 70-kilometer stretch where incidents are frequent.
A former local official told the French Press Agency that “terrorists mainly steal vehicles capable of traveling on rough roads, belonging to major brands, and undoubtedly resell them in Nigeria.”
In the western part of Niger, in Tillabéri, near Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger fights other jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Hundreds of people demonstrated on Saturday in Tillabéri, demanding the ruling military regime to “establish rapid intervention units,” “an airbase,” and “recruit civilian volunteers” to support the army in fighting jihadist groups, facing continued attacks against civilians. Niger has been ruled by a military regime since a coup in July 2023 ousted elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
