DAKAR: An attack by a extremist group on a village in western Niger has killed 44 civilians, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The attack took place on Friday afternoon in the village of Fambita in the rural commune of Kokorou, near the tri-state border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the ministry said in a statement. It blamed the attack on the Islamic State in the Great Sahara, or EIGS.
The Associated Press was not able to reach out to the EIGS for comment.
“Around 2 p.m., while Muslim worshippers were performing Friday prayers, these heavily armed terrorists surrounded the mosque to carry out their massacre of rare cruelty,” the statement read. The gunmen also set fire to a market and houses before retreating, it added.
The provisional death toll is at least 44 civilians, with 13 severely injured, the ministry said. It declared three days of national mourning
Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by extremist groups, including some allied with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group.
Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. The three countries have vowed to strengthen their cooperation by establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States.
But the security situation in the Sahel, a vast region on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, has significantly worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces.
At least 44 civilians killed in extremist attack in Niger, authorities say
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At least 44 civilians killed in extremist attack in Niger, authorities say
- The Interior Ministry says the attack took place on Friday afternoon in the village of Fambita
Swiss bar owner faces prosecutors for second hearing after deadly New Year’s fire
- The French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of crimes including negligent homicide
- They have both voiced grief over the fire, which mostly killed teenagers
GENEVA: The owner of a Swiss bar that caught fire on New Year’s Day, killing 40 people, appeared before prosecutors on Tuesday for a second set of hearings in the criminal investigation, according to a lawyer present.
The French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of crimes including negligent homicide.
Jacques Moretti, who is currently in police custody, is before prosecutors on Tuesday in Sion to examine his version of events, Romain Jordan, a lawyer for families of the victims, told Reuters.
Moretti’s wife, who remains free, is due to be heard on Wednesday.
They have both voiced grief over the fire, which mostly killed teenagers, and said they would cooperate with the probe.
During initial hearings, Jacques Moretti said that a service door at the back of the “Le Constellation” bar was locked shut during the blaze, according to excerpts published by Swiss media.
He said he forced it open from the outside and found several people lying behind it.
Asked about this testimony, his lawyer Nicola Meier said it was a tragedy but denied it represented a locked emergency exit.
Local authorities for the ski town of Crans-Montana also face scrutiny after missing safety checks. The mayor’s office said it withdrew a request to be a party to the case “out of respect for the victims.”
