Niger: deadly attack by Boko Haram on municipal day

At least 27 people were killed on the night of Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 December in an attack "

of incredible barbarity

" by jihadists of Boko Haram in south-eastern Niger, a few hours before the opening of municipal elections and regional in the country.

Read also: In the Sahel, Boko Haram sees the coronavirus as a godsend

"

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 falls 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

.

"

Some victims were killed or injured by bullets, others burned 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.

Read also: Ten Nigerian civilians killed by suspected members of Boko Haram

"

The attackers, whose number is estimated at nearly 70, arrived in Toumour around 6:45 p.m. local time on foot, after swimming across (the waters of Lake Chad) and raged for three hours,

" he said.

"

They first attacked the residence of the traditional chief who was able to escape them in extremis

".

At least 36,000 dead in eleven years

This massacre occurs on the day 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.

"

Due to this attack, the voting operations for the municipal and regional elections could not be held this Sunday,

" an elected official from the department of Bosso told AFP.

The governor of Diffa, Issa Lémine, went to Toumour this Sunday to attend the funerals of the victims, his services told AFP.

Diffa, the regional capital of 200,000 people on the border with Nigeria, was attacked four times in May, and at least 12 Nigerien soldiers were killed in the attack on the post of Blabrine, northeast of Diffa .

Read also: Niger: five villagers killed by Boko Haram

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.

Read also: Boko Haram: ten years of jihadist terror on the borders of Nigeria

Since 2016, the Boko Haram group has split into two factions: that of Abubakar Shekau, the historical leader of the group, and the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap), affiliated with ISIS - notably installed around Lake Chad.

The Nigerien authorities do not differentiate between members of Boko Haram and Iswap, qualifying all these jihadist fighters as elements of Boko Haram.

The groups are responsible in eleven years of insurgency for the deaths of at least 36,000 people and some two million displaced, according to UN figures.