Jihadists killed again in the northern region of Tillabery. Nineteen villagers were killed on Saturday evening, April 17, while burying one of their own. The attackers, who came on motorcycles, then headed north to the Anzourou area bordering Mali. For some time, insecurity has been growing in this area, where several dozen civilians have been killed in less than a month.
Shortly before the break of the Ramadan fast at dusk, the village of Gaygorou was targeted by armed assailants on motorcycles.
The victims were gathered for the burial of an elderly man in the village cemetery when they were brutally killed. The victims, already in mourning, did not suspect anything until the jihadists burst in. All were buried in the same cemetery on Saturday evening.
According to a security source, the jihadists fled in the direction of the Anzourou area, with the arrival of a military patrol in the village, which, according to this same source, limited the carnage to Gaygorou.
It was a traumatized population that the delegations of the Ministers of the Interior, Defense and the Governor of Tillabéry met.
“There is no valid reason for this murderous incursion against this village where sedentary and nomadic populations live in perfect harmony on the banks of the Niger River,” said Tillabéry Governor Tidjani Katchala.
To reassure these populations, a detachment of special forces from Operation Almahaou is camped near the village. For some time, several dozen villagers have been massacred by jihadist groups. But according to counterterrorism specialists in Niamey, insecurity is growing from Ayorou to Tillia, in the northern region of Tahoua, where it is a concern. According to the same sources, weapons are smuggled into this area almost daily.