Enlarge image
Fatal attack in Tillaberi in Niger in January: the armed attacks are increasingly directed against the civilian population in the border region
Photo: STR / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Dozens of people have been killed in terrorist attacks in Niger in recent months.
According to Amnesty International, jihadist groups are increasingly targeting children.
A growing number of minors are being killed or recruited by jihadists, the human rights organization said in a report that has now been published.
Armed groups have repeatedly attacked schools in the Tillabéri region in the west of the country, it says.
In the current year, more than 60 children in the region bordering Mali and Burkina Faso have been killed by Islamist extremists.
Minors are also specifically targeted by these groups for recruiting.
Amnesty blames the ISGS, the Sahara offshoot of "Islamic State", for the majority of fatal attacks on minors.
According to the human rights activists, the extremist group JNIM, which is allied with the terror network Al-Qaeda, is to blame for the "devastating effect" the conflicts in Tillabéri have on children.
Fear of kidnapping and forced marriage
Many children in the region have suffered trauma after witnessing fatal attacks on their villages, the 57-page report said.
In some areas, women and girls are at risk of being kidnapped or forcibly married by the jihadists.
Amnesty claims that it interviewed 119 people, including 22 minors, for the report.
A number of armed groups are active in Niger, Burkina Faso and other countries in the Sahel region.
Some have pledged their allegiance to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network or the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia.
In Niger, with its around 23 million inhabitants, there are repeated attacks, especially in the border regions with Mali.
The terrorists are increasingly concentrating on civilians.
In mid-August, armed attackers raided a village.
They came on motorcycles and killed 37 people, 14 of whom were children.
At the end of July, 33 villagers were killed in two attacks, also on the border with Mali.
asc / AFP / dpa