The Nigerien government has confirmed that 44 civilians were killed in a terrorist attack on Fambita village in the Tillabéri region.
Officials attributed the assault to militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
Counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama disclosed this in a post on his X handle.
Earlier, DAILY POST reported that ISGS militants carried out the brutal attack in Fambita, a volatile area of Niger.
According to the Ministry of Interior, the attack happened on Friday while Muslim worshippers were praying during Ramadan.
The heavily armed assailants surrounded the mosque before launching their assault.
“These terrorists, in an act of extreme cruelty, massacred innocent civilians at prayer before systematically setting fire to the market and homes during their retreat,” the statement, broadcast on national television, said.
Thirteen people were injured, four critically. In response, the government declared a 72-hour national mourning period from Saturday, 23rd March, with flags flown at half-mast.
Minister of State and Acting Interior Minister, Army Corps General Salifou Modi, condemned the attack as a “heinous act committed on a Friday, the holy day of Islam, in the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadan.”
He added, “Terrorists and their supporters do not uphold any religious ideals.”
The government vowed that “these heinous crimes will not go unpunished,” pledging to pursue the perpetrators, their sponsors, and accomplices.
The massacre occurred two days after the Nigerien military conducted an air-to-ground raid against suspected EIGS militants at the Kiral gold mining site in the same region.
According to an official statement, the operation resulted in the deaths of 45 suspected terrorists.
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