"
Many
" people were killed on Saturday by armed men in Tchomo-Bangou, a village in the Tillabéri region, in western Niger, local authorities and residents told AFP on the day of the ceremony. proclamation of the presidential results.
Read also: In Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou hands over
"
The attack took place around noon (11h GMT) and there were deaths,
" a senior official from the Tillabéri region told AFP, without giving a precise assessment, nor any details on the circumstances of the attack.
"
Many civilians were killed in an attack in Tchomo-Bangou
", a village in the Ouallam department, bordering Mali, said a local elected official without
giving
further details.
“
The attackers came to surround the village and killed up to fifty people.
The wounded were evacuated to Ouallam hospital
, ”a journalist from a local radio station said on condition of anonymity.
On December 21, six days before the presidential election, seven Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush in the same region.
According to the journalist, the Tchomo-Bangou attack occurred in the vicinity of Tongo Tongo where four American special forces soldiers and five Nigerien soldiers were killed in October 2017 in an ambush.
This attack had been claimed by the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara.
Read also: Niger: 7 soldiers and 11 "terrorists" killed
The attack on Tchomo-Bangou comes as the results of the first round of the presidential election on December 27 have fallen, giving the ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum, former minister of the government, widely in the lead (39.33%). Interior which promised to strengthen the fight against jihadist groups.
For several years, Niger has been plagued by jihadist attacks in its western and south-eastern parts, which have left hundreds of people dead, as have neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
The Tillabéri region is located in the
Niger-Mali-Burkina
“
three borders
” area, often hit by jihadist groups.
In May 2020, twenty people, including children, were killed in two villages in Anzourou (Tillabéri region).
On December 12, at least 34 villagers were killed and a hundred wounded in Toumour in the Diffa region (south-east), near Nigeria, by men from the jihadist group Boko Haram, according to the authorities.
Covid-19: Niger bans gatherings and closes bars and theaters
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