Armed persons have killed at least 137 people in Niger. According to the government of the African country, they attacked a number of villages in the southwest, near the border with Mali, in coordinated actions on Sunday.
It is one of the deadliest incidents in the country, suffering from Islamic violence from terror groups such as Boko Haram and Al Qaeda. The authorities have not yet identified any guilty party. A source at the security services previously pointed to Islamic State.
“By systematically targeting civilians, these armed bandits have reached a new level of horror and cruelty,” the Niger government said in a statement. Three days of national mourning have been declared.
Sunday’s attack may have been in retaliation for recent arrests of potential militiamen in the area. A week ago, 58 villagers were also killed by unidentified militants in attacks in nearby Tillabéry in the southwest of the country.
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