DIFFA, NIGER: Soldiers in Niger killed 14 unarmed civilians after mistaking them for Boko Haram militants during a patrol in the remote southeast of the country, a senior regional official said on Thursday.
Nigerien soldiers were patrolling a militarily restricted zone around the village of Abadam near Lake Chad on Wednesday afternoon when they opened fire on what turned out to be farmers, according to Yahaya Godi, the Secretary General of the Diffa region of southeast Niger.
“Fourteen people are dead. Abadam is a village located in the red zone and has been prohibited for a very long time,” said Godi. “Any individual seen in the area is considered Boko Haram.”
He said two of the dead were from Niger and the rest from neighboring Nigeria, where Boko Haram is based and from which the jihadist group has sometimes carried out cross-border attacks into Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
It was not immediately clear why the civilians were in the restricted area and what made the soldiers open fire. Nigerien army officials were not reachable for comment.
One witness said the farmers had just finished eating when gunfire broke out, forcing them to flee.
The incident occurred three days after suspected Boko Haram militants killed nine people and abducted dozens more in southern Niger. That attack raised concern about Niger’s inability to stop Boko Haram crossing the desert border from their bases in Nigeria.
The Diffa region has seen intense fighting over the past year between Niger’s army and Boko Haram. Thousands of people have been displaced and many areas are off-limits.
Niger soldiers kill 14 civilians mistaken for militants: Official
Niger soldiers kill 14 civilians mistaken for militants: Official
At least three dead as migrant boat capsizes off Greek island
- An accident occurred when the vessel approached the migrants’ wooden boat
- The search for survivors was continuing with four patrol boats
ATHENS: The bodies of three migrants were picked up in waters off the Greek island of Crete during a rescue effort involving a commercial ship, authorities said Friday.
Twenty migrants were rescued by the commercial vessel which was directed to the area on the orders of the Greek Search and Rescue Center.
According to Greek public broadcaster ERT, an accident occurred when the vessel approached the migrants’ wooden boat. As the passengers tried to climb up ladders into the vessel a sudden movement caused the small boat to capsize.
The search for survivors was continuing with four patrol boats, an aircraft, and two ships from the European border agency Frontex, a spokesperson for the Greek coast guard told AFP.
According to ERT, survivors said about 50 people were aboard the wooden boat.
A second boat carrying around forty migrants was spotted in the area, triggering another rescue operation.
For over a year, migrants have been attempting the perilous crossing from Libya to Crete, the gateway to the European Union.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 16,770 people seeking asylum in the EU arrived in Crete in 2025.
Faced with the surge in arrivals, the conservative Greek government suspended the processing of asylum applications for three months last summer, particularly for those arriving from Libya.
UNHCR says 107 people died or went missing in Greek waters in 2025.
