ABIDJAN: Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said on Tuesday.

The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh are active.

A resident of the area said 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.

“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification.”

“Once again, the Tillaberi region ... has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain terrorist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.

Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week. Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

The rights monitoring group estimates that Daesh has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.

The NGO ACLED says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.

Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, ruled by military coup leaders, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against terrorism.