At least 56 civilians have died and 20 more have been injured in an attack by jihadist militiamen against the Nigerian villages of Chombangú and Zarumdareye, near the border with Mali.
Niger's Interior Minister, Alkache Alhada, has confirmed the information to the RFI broadcaster and announced that troops have been sent to the area.
In recent months there has been a rebound in attacks by jihadist groups on the African continent, mainly the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Boko Haram and its split, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA).
Boko Haram and ISWA have focused their attacks on the Lake Chad basin, while ISGS and the Islam and Muslims Support Group (JNIM), a subsidiary of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda in Mali, have done so on the border they make up. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The JNIM claimed responsibility precisely this Friday for the attack in which three French soldiers died on December 28 due to the explosion of a bomb in northern Mali.
"To end the French occupation of the Sahel region, their [JNIM] mujahideen brothers have carried out an operation against a convoy of the French occupation forces on the road between Gossi and Hombori," the group reported to through its propaganda platform, Al Zallaqa.
On the other hand, this Saturday the victory of the official candidate, Mohamed Bazoum, in the presidential elections last Sunday in Niger was announced.
Bazoum will have to contest a second round with opponent Mahamane Ousmane.
The winner tops the results announced this Saturday by the Electoral Commission with 39.33% of the votes, followed by Ousmane, who obtained 16.89% of the support, but the two candidates will have to face each other again on February 21 none of them having exceeded 50% of the votes.