At least 19 killed in attacks by militants in Nijer

NIGER, Jun. 26 (YPA) – At least 19 people were killed and two injured in armed attacks on villages in western Niger, according to Actoniger.

The attacks took place last Thursday in the Tillaberi area near the border with Mali.

The attackers used motorcycles to move around and attacked at least three villages, killing 19 people, looting  shops and stealing local residents’ property.

Tillaberi Region, located in the “border triangle” between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, has been  witnessing  bloody attacks by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS for years.

This area remains unstable despite intensive efforts to establish security there. A battalion of 1,200 Chadian army troops is to be deployed in the triangle border area as part of the five-nation Group of Five Sahel countries — Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad — which has been seeking cooperation in the fight against militants since 2015.

E.M