AVOID MUSLIM NIGER

Niger is a poor Sahelian country with few resources and unstable governments. In fact, it is the country with the second poorest living standards in the world, only surpassed by uneasy Sierra Leone. Little progress thus is made in improving the situation of women's rights. Traditional practices, including the use of family or traditional courts, thus regulate the living conditions of most women. A recent change of government priorities however raises hopes for serious poverty alliviation.

Despite the Constitution's provisions for women's rights, the traditional belief in the submission of women to men is deeply rooted.

Domestic violence against women is widespread in Niger. Prostitution is often the only alternative for a abused woman who divorces her husband. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practiced by several ethnic groups in the country.

Each Nigerien woman averagely gives birth to over 7 children (2000 est.).

Social data

Life expectancy: Total population: 41.27 years; male: 41.43 years; female: 41.11 years (2000 est.)

Literacy rate: Total population: 13.6%; male: 20.9%; female: 6.6% (1995 est.)

Medical services: 30% of the people have access to medical services. (33.000 persons per doctor).

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female; total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Religious data: Muslim 82%, traditional African religions 17,82%, Christian 0,18%

Family and tradition

Discrimination is worse in rural areas, where women do much of the subsistence farming as well as child-rearing, water- and wood-gathering, and other work. Despite constituting 47 percent of the work force, women have made only modest inroads in civil service and professional employment and remain underrepresented in these areas.

Women's inferior legal status is evident, for example, in head of household status: A male head of household has certain legal rights, but divorced or widowed women, even with children, are not considered to be heads of households. Among the Hausa and Peul in the east, some women are cloistered and may leave their homes only if escorted by a male and usually only after dark. In 1994 the Government considered a draft family code intended to eliminate gender bias in inheritance rights, land tenure, and child custody, as well as end the practice of repudiation, which permits a husband to obtain an immediate divorce with no further responsibility for his wife or children. However, in June 1994 when Islamic associations criticized the draft code, the then-Government suspended discussions. The Government has taken no further action on the family code, although on August 13, it ratified the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Some Islamic groups criticized the treaty and complained that they were not consulted beforehand. Women's groups have so far been silent, allegedly due to fear of reprisals. The same Islamic militant groups worked against the family code, and reportedly threatened women who supported the code with physical harm.

Tradition among some ethnic groups allows young girls from rural families to enter into marriage agreements on the basis of which girls are sent by the age of 10 or 12 (or younger) to join their husband's family under the tutelage of their mother-in-law. There are credible reports of underage girls being drawn into prostitution, sometimes with the complicity of the family.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practiced by several ethnic groups in the extreme west and far eastern areas of the country. Clitoridectomy is the most common form of FGM.

Gender sensitivity in society

The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on sex, social origin, race, ethnicity, or religion. However, in practice there is discrimination against women, children, ethnic minorities, and disabled persons, including limited economic and political opportunities.

Despite the Constitution's provisions for women's rights, the deep-seated traditional belief in the submission of women to men results in discrimination in education, employment, and property rights.

Health data

Access to potable water: 48%

Medical services: 30% of the people have access to medical services. (33.000 persons per doctor).

Maternal mortality rate: 1.200/100.000

Infant mortality: 124,9 deaths/1.000 live births (2000 est.)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Females in several ethnic groups undergo this procedure.

Female genital mutilation, which is widely condemned by international health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health, is practiced by several ethnic groups in the extreme west and far eastern areas of the country. Clitoridectomy is the most common form of FGM. FGM is not illegal, but the Government is engaged firmly in an effort to eliminate the practice. The Government is working closely with a local NGO, the United Nations Children's Fund, and other donors to develop and distribute educational materials at government clinics and maternal health centers.

Violence against women

Domestic violence against women is widespread, although firm statistics are lacking. Wife beating is reportedly common, even in upper social classes. Families often intervene to prevent the worst abuses, and women may (and do) divorce because of physical abuse. While women have the right to seek redress in the customary or modern courts, few do so, due to ignorance of the legal system, fear of social stigma, or fear of repudiation. Women's rights organizations report that prostitution is often the only economic alternative for a woman who wants to leave her husband.

Main sources: U.S. Department of State, CIA, UN, HRW, Mundo negro

Niger: Muslims storm church during Christmas midnight mass, murder one couple

DEC 29, 2025 8:00 AM
BY ROBERT SPENCER

Muslims in Nigeria continue their efforts to “strike terror” in the enemies of Allah, as the Qur’an directs (8:60).
“Couple killed as gunmen storm Niger church,” AFP, December 26, 2025: A couple were killed in South-West Niger this week after armed individuals fired into the air inside a church, locals told AFP on Friday.

The incident occurred in the Dosso region of Niger, a Sahel country that has been plagued for a decade by a conflict pitting the military against fighters said to be linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

ACLED, a non-governmental organisation monitoring conflicts around the world, said nearly 2,000 people had died as a result of such violence in Niger this year.

“The attack happened in Mailo village at around 11:00 pm on Wednesday night. Christians were attending mass in the church when armed individuals came in and fired into the air. There was panic,” a local requesting anonymity told AFP.

“A man and his wife ran and hid in their house but (the assailants) followed them and they were killed.”…

Suspected jihadists are nonetheless blamed for attacks on churches in the western region of Tillaberi between 2018 and 2021, and the killing of 111 Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi this year.


Niger: Islamic jihadis open fire at baptism ceremony, murder 22 villagers

SEP 19, 2025
BY ROBERT SPENCER

Imagine the outcry that would ensue, and not just from Muslims by any means, if Christians opened fire at a mosque and killed 22 Muslims, which would not happen and should not happen. But about this, which happens all too often, you will likely hear nothing except here.

“Gunmen fire on Niger baptism ceremony, kill 22 villagers,” AFP, September 17, 2025:

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

The shootings happened Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.

A resident of the area told AFP 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”….

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

The group kills Muslims who do not accept its authority, and who are accordingly considered to be apostates or hypocrites.


Niger: Islamic State jihadis murder over 127 people in five separate jihad attacks

SEP 13, 2025
BY ROBERT SPENCER

“Niger’s army failed to adequately respond to local residents’ warnings and requests for protection.”

Here yet again we see a jihad force that appears to be stronger and better equipped than a national army. Who is funding ISIS? Is anyone investigating that at all?

“ISIS attacks leave 127 dead in western Niger,” ANHA Hawar News Agency, September 10, 2025 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

HRW stated on Wednesday that ISIS mercenaries have intensified their attacks in the Tillabéri region of western Niger since March, leaving more than 127 people dead in five separate assaults.

According to the report, the attacks took place in the Tillabéri region near the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali; an area long known for the presence of mercenaries linked to ISIS and al-Qaeda.

“Witnesses identified the assailants as members of the terrorist group based on their clothing and prior threats, while Niger’s army failed to adequately respond to local residents’ warnings and requests for protection,” the report noted….


Rise in al Qaeda attacks revives spectre of West African caliphate

By Anait Miridzhanian and Moussa Aksar
July 17, 2025

DAKAR, July 17 (Reuters) - At dawn on June 1, gunfire shattered the stillness of Mali's military base in Boulkessi. Waves of jihadist insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked group stormed the camp, catching newly deployed soldiers off guard.

Some troops, unfamiliar with the base, which lies near Mali's southern border with Burkina Faso, scrambled to find cover while others fled into the arid brush, according to one soldier, who spoke to survivors of the attack.

The soldier, who had completed a tour at the camp a week before, requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists.

Hours after the attack, videos circulated online showing jubilant fighters from Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), stepping over the bodies of fallen soldiers.

JNIM claimed it had killed more than 100 troops and showed around 20 soldiers who said they were captured at the base. Reuters was unable to verify the claims independently.

The Boulkessi assault was one of more than a dozen deadly attacks by JNIM on military outposts and towns across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in May and June. The insurgents claimed to have killed more than 400 soldiers in those attacks. Mali's military government has not commented on the toll.

Reuters spoke to five analysts, a security expert and a community leader in the region who said the surge in violence reflects a strategic shift by JNIM - a group founded by a veteran Islamist who rose to prominence by briefly seizing northern Mali in 2012.

JNIM is moving from rural guerrilla tactics to a campaign aimed at controlling territory around urban centres and asserting political dominance in the Sahel, they said.

"The recent attacks point a concrete effort to encircle Sahelian capitals, aiming for a parallel state stretching from western Mali to southern Niger and northern Benin," said Mucahid Durmaz, senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence group Verisk Maplecroft.

Attacks by JNIM left more 850 people dead across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in May, a rise from the average rate of killings of around 600 in previous months, according to data from U.S. crisis-monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).

The surge in attacks in May and June marks one of the deadliest periods in the Sahel's recent history and underscores the threat posed by jihadist groups at a time when regional governments are estranged from former Western military allies, analysts say.

More than a decade of insurgencies in the Sahel has caused mass displacement and economic collapse. The violence has steadily spread towards coastal West Africa, straining regional stability and fuelling migration toward Europe.

On July 1, JNIM carried out simultaneous attacks on army camps and positions in seven towns in central and western Mali, according to an army statement and claims by the insurgents.

The army said 80 militants were killed. Reuters was unable to reach JNIM for comment. The group releases its statements and videos on social media, and has no media spokesperson.

Mali's army did not respond to Reuters requests for comments about the wave of JNIM attacks. It said in a statement after the Boulkessi assault that troops responded "vigorously" before retreating.

"Many soldiers fought, some to their last breath," the statement said.

STRATEGIC PIVOT

JNIM's leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly, has been instrumental in its transformation.

A former rebel leader in Mali's Tuareg uprisings in the 1990s, Ag Ghaly led the fundamentalist group Ansar Dine that was part of a coalition of groups that briefly occupied northern Mali in 2012.

The militants imposed a harsh version of sharia law - banning music, imposing mutilations as punishment for crimes, and holding public executions and floggings.

Thousands fled, and cultural sites were destroyed, leaving lasting trauma in the region before the rebels were driven out by a French military intervention the following year. Ag Ghaly is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, who seized power between 2020 and 2023 on the back of the prolonged insurgencies, promise to restore security before returning their countries to democratic rule.

They've cut ties with Western nations and expelled their forces, blaming them for failing to end the insurgencies and turning instead to Russia for military support.

After deploying mercenaries, the Russians have also suffered setbacks and been unable to contain the uprisings.

In Burkina Faso — a country about half the size of France — militants exert influence or control over an estimated 60% of the territory, according to ACLED.

Ag Ghaly, who has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, has positioned himself as the leader of a jihadist coalition that includes al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al-Mourabitoun, and Katiba Macina after they merged into JNIM in 2017.

A Western security source, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak publicly, told Reuters that JNIM has emerged as the region's strongest militant group, with an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 fighters.

Ag Ghaly's goal, the analysts said, is to impose Islamic rule across the Sahel and extend its influence to coastal West Africa, a region twice the size of Western Europe, with a population of around 430 million people, many of them Christian.

In a rare video released in December 2023, he denounced the military governments in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso and called on Muslims to mobilize against them and their Russian allies.

Ag Ghaly could not be reached for comment. The governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger did not respond to requests for comment.

SOPHISTICATED TACTICS, LOCAL OUTREACH

JNIM's battlefield tactics have grown increasingly sophisticated, including the use of anti-aircraft weapons and drones for surveillance and precision strikes, Durmaz said.

It has amassed substantial resources, meanwhile, through raids, cattle rustling, hijacking of goods, kidnappings and taxes on local communities, the five analysts said.

While it has not appointed local administrators in areas under its control, JNIM has imposed a tax known as 'Zakat' for protection, according to two residents and a former militia fighter.

They have quelled some inter-communal conflicts and imposed a form of Sharia law, requiring women to wear veils and men to grow beards. But they have refrained from severe punishments, such as amputating the hands of thieves.

Heni Nsaibia, Senior West Africa analyst at ACLED, described its recent activity as a "step change".

He said JNIM seizing Burkina Faso's northern provincial capital Djibo, a town of over 60,000 people, on May 11 and Diapaga, an eastern provincial capital of around 15,000, two days later was unprecedented.

"In Djibo they stayed for 11 hours or plus. In Diapaga they remained for two-three days even. And that is very much something that we haven't seen before," Nsaibia said.

According to Nsaibia, the group has captured an estimated $3 million worth of munitions in Djibo alone.

The repeated attacks have left the capitals of Mali and Burkina Faso unsettled, and idea of JNIM taking over Bamako or Ouagadougou, once considered far-fetched, is a plausible threat, according to Nsaibia.

JNIM's outreach to marginalized communities, particularly the Fulani, a widely dispersed pastoralist group, has been central to recruitment, the analysts said.

"JNIM is advancing its narrative as a defender of marginalised communities," Durmaz said. "They are not just fighting for territory — they're fighting for legitimacy."

Fulani have increasingly found themselves targeted by authorities across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso under the banner of counter-terrorism, a Fulani community leader told Reuters, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

While not all Fulani are involved in armed groups, their presence is significant among insurgents in rural areas, driven more by frustration and lack of opportunity than ideology, the leader said.

JNIM's ambitions now stretch beyond the Sahel. The group has expanded its operations into northern Benin and Togo, and are threatening Gulf of Guinea states which they use as a rear base, according to analysts.

Both countries have deployed more security forces in the northern regions as insurgents ramp up attacks.

"Togo and Benin are the most vulnerable due to their limited counterterrorism capabilities, existing local grievances in their northern regions, and porous borders with Burkina Faso," Durmaz said.


Horror Al-Qaeda attack sees 13 dead as terrorists launch huge raid on 150 motorcycles

The attack is the latest in a string of militant attacks across West Africa.

By Conor Wilson, Express News Reporter
Jul 10, 2025

Gunmen in the West African country of Niger have killed 13 people in the latest of a string of attacks in the region. The killings took place in the early morning in Magoro, Kumbashi and Bangi, the headquarters of the local Government area.

Gunmen descended on the area on around 150 motorcycles, firing randomly and killing 13, whilst injuring dozens of people. Among the dead were villagers, members of a local vigilante group, and a policeman, whilst two women were reportedly abducted. The motivation of the attackers is yet to be determined but the attack comes as attacks by Al Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) continue  across several West African nations, especially Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

JNIM has become one of Africa’s most deadly jihadist groups since being formed in Mali in 2017.

The group was formed after five separate militant groups joined forces and has contributed to significant political instability in the region, which has seen several coups and hundreds of attacks across West Africa and the Sahel.

Niger was subject to a military coup in July 2023 amid rising insecurity and internal power struggles.

Poor governance has allowed militant groups such as JNIM to flourish, allowing them to exploit local grievances to boost their numbers.

Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst for security consultancy firm Control Risk said: "JNIM have an ability to embed in local communities or to be able to use local grievances as a means of recruiting or winning sympathy towards their cause.”

The militants reject the authority of the Sahel governments as they seek to impose a strict interpretation of Islam and Sharia law.

It has been known to impose strict laws in its areas of operation, including ordering men to grow beards, banning music and smoking and preventing women from being alone in public.

Yvan Guichaoua, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, said: "These practices are clearly breaking from established practices and certainly not very popular.

"But whether it's attractive or not, also depends on what the state is able to deliver, and there has been a lot of disappointment in what the state has been doing for the past years."

It currently has strongholds within Niger and beyond and has been responsible for several attacks on government forces in recent years.


Niger’s junta withdraws from Lake Chad anti-Islamist force

Coalition of former allies Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria fought armed insurgents including Boko Haram

The Guardian
April 1, 2025

Niger’s ruling junta has quit a regional force fighting armed Islamist groups in west Africa’s Lake Chad area, cementing an acrimonious split from former allies in the region.

The decision to exit the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was announced in a bulletin on state television over the weekend. The move “reflects a stated intent to reinforce security for oil sites”, the bulletin stated, without providing further details.

The MNJTF was formed in 2015 by Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria in the wake of increasing jihadist attacks across their territories. At its peak, it had an estimated 10,000 troops and fought many armed groups, especially Boko Haram and its offshoots. But any serious progress has been hampered or even undone by poor collaboration and equipping, analysts say.

“The force was never that effective, said Ulf Laessing, the Bamako-based director of the Sahel programme at Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German thinktank. Its decline, he added, was “good news for jihadists and it is bad news for villagers on the lake side, fishers or farmers who just want to go about their business but who will now get less military support”.

Niger’s exit from MNJTF came days after the junta’s leader, Abdourahmane Tiani, was sworn in as president until 2030 under a new charter that suspended the constitution and dissolved all political parties.

Niger has also isolated itself from the Economic Community of West African State (Ecowas), after Ecowas imposed a range of sanctions following the coup that ousted the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, in July 2023.

Within two months of the coup, it had joined the splinter Alliance of Sahel States (AES) along with Burkina Faso and Mali, where there have also been military takeovers since 2020.

Since then, AES has introduced new biometric passports to replace the old regional passports and on Monday, it announced a 0.5% levy on imported goods from Ecowas states.

Ikemesit Effiong, managing partner at Nigerian geopolitical risk advisory SBM Intelligence, said the levy put an end to “a long history of free trade across the western Sahel” and could change the dynamics of Ecowas’s negotiations with AES.

“When squared with Ecowas’s statement commitment to keep open trade and borders with AES states, I think this [levy] will force Ecowas to drop its kid gloves strategy and be more forceful with the AES,” Effiong said.

It remains unclear what impact Niger’s withdrawal from the MNJTF will have on a security agreement signed with neighbouring Nigeria last August. The countries share a border that spans 1,000 miles but Nigeria-led Ecowas’s push for a rapid return to democratic governance has caused friction between both countries.

Effiong said recent moves in the capital, Niamey, which has been seeking new military and economic partners since expelling French troops in 2023, are unsurprising.

“Niger has been pulling out of all its main regional bilateral and multilateral commitments, much of which it sees as western influenced or inspired,” said Effiong, who noted that MTNJTF had received military and intelligence aid from western partners in the past.


At least 44 killed in Niger jihadist attack, authorities say

By Reuters
March 22, 2025

NIAMEY, March 22 (Reuters) - Islamist militants killed at least 44 civilians and severely injured 13 others during an attack on a mosque in southwest Niger on Friday, the country's defence ministry said.

The attack occurred during afternoon prayers in the village of Fombita in the rural commune of Kokorou, which is near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali known as the epicentre of a jihadist insurgency in West Africa linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

The defence ministry blamed the attack on the EIGS group, an Islamic State affiliate, in a statement late on Friday.

Reuters is not able to contact EIGS for comment.

Heavily armed jihadists encircled a mosque, where people had gathered for prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and carried out a "massacre of rare cruelty", it said.

The attackers then set fire to a market and houses before retreating, the ministry said.

Troops deployed to the scene provided a provisional death toll of 44 civilians, with 13 severely injured. Three days of national mourning have been declared.

The insurgency in West Africa's Sahel region started when Islamist militants took over territory in north Mali after a 2012 Tuareg rebellion.

It has since spread into neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, and more recently into the north of coastal West African countries such as Togo and Ghana.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced as militants have gained groups, attacking towns, villages, military and police posts and army convoys.

The failure of governments to restore security contributed to two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger between 2020 and 2023. All three remain under military rule despite regional and international pressure to hold elections.

Since the coups, authorities have turned away from traditional Western allies and sought military support from Russia instead.


Boko haram militants Kill 14 Nigerian fishermen in Niger border attack

The Street Journal
December 11, 2024

Boko Haram militants have killed 14 Nigerian fishermen in Niger, as stated an anti-jihadist militia working with the Nigerian military.

The victims had fled northeastern Nigeria to escape relentless attacks by armed groups and sought safety across the border in Niger.

On Sunday, December 8, the fishermen, originally from the towns of Malam Fatori and Doron Baga in Nigeria, were ambushed and killed while fishing in Niger’s Diffa border region.

The brutal attack underscores the ongoing threat posed by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin area.

A vigilante group leader, Babakura Kolo, stated that, “All 14 fishermen had their throats slit by the Boko Haram terrorists who operate in the Bosso area close to the border.”

The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a state-supported initiative in Nigeria’s Borno State, comprises local residents recruited and trained by the military to assist in combating jihadist insurgents.

“They were attacked just few kilometres from the Malam Fatori on the Nigerian side of the border,” said Ibrahim Liman, who is also a member of the CJTF and verified the death toll.

Nigeria’s northeastern region has endured a devastating 15-year conflict that has claimed over 40,000 lives and displaced approximately two million people, with 138,000 fleeing to neighboring Niger, according to United Nations estimates.

The displaced populations, heavily reliant on international aid, often turn to fishing, logging, and scavenging for metal scraps to afford food and supplement their limited rations.

Militant groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have increasingly targeted individuals engaged in these activities, accusing them of espionage and collaborating with the military and allied militias.

In May, ISWAP militants killed dozens of fishermen on three islands in Nigeria’s section of Lake Chad as retaliation for military airstrikes on ISWAP camps that had inflicted heavy casualties on fighters and their families.

Lake Chad, spanning Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, serves as a strategic haven for Boko Haram and ISWAP, enabling them to coordinate and launch attacks across the region.


Suspected Terrorists Reportedly Kidnap 56 Residents in Niger Community, Demand N200 Million Ransom

March 29, 2023
Sahara Reporters

According to residents of the community who shared the incident on their social media pages, the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of N200 million in order to release the abducted residents.

Suspected terrorists have reportedly kidnapped no fewer than 56 people during a fresh attack on Adara town in the Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger state, north central Nigeria. 

The attack occurred in the middle of March, while residents of the community and its environs were mourning the death of Rev Fr Isaac Achi, who was brutally murdered by suspected assassins in the state in January.

According to residents of the community who shared the incident on their social media pages, the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of N200 million in order to release the abducted residents.

In a Facebook post, Edward Simon Buju lamented how the attack has harmed the community's socioeconomic situation, claiming that farmers in the area no longer go to their farms for fear of being attacked.

Edward went on to say that one of the abducted victims was killed by the gunmen because he refused to follow them to their new location.

His post reads: “Adunu is an Adara town in paikoro local government of Niger state a town full of love, peace and unity, has now been invaded by herdsmen who kills and kidnapped this Citizens in numbers.

“The Federal government and the government of Niger state should as a matter of urgency come to their aides to save them from this bandit who have been terrorising these community day in day out (sic).

“Early this month about 56 members of this community kidnapped by bandits that invaded the community numbering about 200 in numbers. Just this morning I got a shocking news that my friend who was also kidnapped by name Arada system was kill, because the bandits wanted to change their location and he complained that he has serious wound that won't let him to Trek for a long distance, these heartless bandits shot him dead and send some women to inform the community.

“The kidnappers were asking for 200 millions for the people of about fifty something and where on earth will this money come from, this farmers don't longer go to there farms.

“Pls I am calling on Foriegn NGO to come to the aides of this community to save them from hungry, and many other social amenities that they also need. Adunu a town bleeding No.”

Another social media user, identified as Jdpc Minna who claimed to be privy to the incident equally explained in detail how the attack occurred.

According to him, the terrorists stormed Adara town and its environs during the day while residents were conducting mass to mourn the death of Rev Fr Isaac Achi.

He continued: “While this Mass was going on, over 300 bandits surrounded the Adunu and Kwagana villages, less than 15 kilometers away from Kaffin-koro, abducting over 100 persons, destroying homes and looting shops in an uninterrupted operation that lasted over five (5) hours. They equally attacked Nanati, Beni, and Abolo communities among others.

“Hundreds were abducted in the process; scores were injured; couples abducted with recklessness. One of the nursing mothers (name withheld) had her infant thrown off her back and the mother kidnapped.

“Many others went through terrible, untold experiences. A health practitioner, Mr Joshua Galadima Bitrus, was shot dead by the bandits on the same day around Kwagana.

It was reported to the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission, Minna (a faith-based Non-governmental Organization) by eyewitnesses in real time.

“One eyewitness (name withheld) stated that "the bandits abducted as many as they could find. In fact, they went house by house, kidnapping, looting and destroying properties."

He equally stated that "while some escaped when they got into the forests, over 56 identified persons are still in captivity".

It must be stated that there is scarcely any security presence in Adunu and its environs despite the constant attacks on the people of that axis over the years.

These people are now internally displaced persons and aliens in their home country: living in perpetual fear; and now, with their homes and properties destroyed by the bandits, they are helpless.

It is to be noted that this took place on Tuesday, 14th of March, 2023, barely four (4) days to the 2023 Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections.

An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, said that while the bandits were raiding the houses, they kept shouting that "the people of Adunu must suffer for refusing to vote a particular political party during the just concluded Presidential elections."

“The people of Adunu and environs have, over the years, been abandoned in terms of infrastructural development and provision of basic amenities, with one of the most dilapidated roads in Niger State, and school buildings that are best described as "collapsed"; yet they cannot go about their farming activities peacefully for fear of being kidnapped or even killed by the men of the underworld.

“Writing on behalf of "FREEDOM FOR #ADUNU56", a concerned group of people from Adunu and environs, Gideon Bahago stated, "We demand the:

“Unconditional release of 56 members of our community kidnapped on the 14/03/2023 in Adunu by a notorious group of armed bandits.

“To bring to notice of national and international communities to the frequent injustices meted out on our people occasionally and demand this ugly trend stop.

“We demand that the Niger state government wake to her constitutional responsibilities of protecting lives of all her indigenes and Citizens alike.

“Demand that Security Agencies who are paid with taxpayers money rise to the occasion by immediately swinging into action in order to arrest the perpetrators of this ugly act while also ensuring that our people return to their respective families.

“Be of help where necessary to ensure the freedom of our people still in captivity via Legal means, awareness such as the #Adun56, peaceful protest and many others.

“We demand that security agencies i.e Police and Army units, formations and/or battalions be installed in our land to avert future occurrences.

“Due to lives lost and properties destroyed, Government should do so, as a matter of urgency, compensate families and victims.

“And or provide basic social amenities in communities affected where such have been tampered with. We therefore call on the Niger State government to respond quickly on this matter by ensuring that the kidnapped persons are released safely to their families, and that security is provided in order to prevent future attacks or abductions.”

“We equally call on the State and Local Government to activate an Emergency Response Team to address the material and psychological needs of the people especially in Adunu, Kwagana and environs,” his post concluded.

Meanwhile, when SaharaReporters contacted state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun for comment, he promised to respond once his investigation was completed. However, as of the time of filing this report, the police spokesman had not responded to a message requesting his comment on the matter.


18 civilians feared killed near Niger's border with Mali

February 22, 2022
AFP

Eighteen civilians have been killed in two suspected jihadist attacks in the west of Niger near the Sahel nation's border with Mali, the government said Tuesday.

The attack happened on Sunday when unidentified "armed bandits" on motorbikes attacked a truck travelling between villages in the Tillaberi region, which lies in a flashpoint zone where the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge, it said.

The interior ministry, in a statement, said "the provisional toll of the attack is 18 people killed, eight injured" with five of those injured admitted to hospital in serious condition.

The truck was then set on fire, the ministry said, adding that a search was underway to find the attackers.

A local resident confirmed the death toll saying that 14 were killed in the attack on the truck.

"Three people who surprised the attackers in a hiding place in the bush, then another person in the attack on the village of Tizigorou", the individual told AFP, claiming to have lost "a nephew" in the attacks.

A local lawmaker, who gave a far lower toll earlier in the day, said that the vehicle targeted by the attackers had been returning from Niger's capital Niamey on Sunday afternoon carrying passengers from four local villages as well as their cargo.

Witnesses reported that the attackers "killed nearly all of the men onboard, before taking their supplies and burning the truck," the lawmaker said.

- Jihadist threat -

Armed groups carried out numerous attacks on civilians in the region in 2021, including a November 2 massacre of at least 69 members of a self-defence militia.

In October 2021, motorcycle-riding assailants killed ten people in a mosque near Tizigorou during evening prayers.

Last Wednesday an improvised explosive device killed five Nigerien soldiers in the southwest of the Sahel country, according to the defence ministry.

The blast occurred in the Gotheye district of Tillaberi.

Western Niger has for years faced jihadist attacks, despite the efforts of international forces deployed to the wider Sahel region to fight the Islamist insurgents.

Niger, the world's poorest country according to the UN's Human Development Index, has to contend with two jihadist insurgencies.


At least 69 dead in west Niger jihadist attack

November 5, 2021
News24

At least 69 people, including a local mayor, have been killed in an attack in Niger's volatile "tri-border" zone with Burkina Faso and Mali, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

The assault took place on Tuesday at Adab-Dab, a village about 55 kilometres from Banibangou in the western region of Tillaberi, but was only confirmed by the government on Thursday.

"The mayor of the commune of Banibangou, while travelling with a delegation from the commune, was ambushed by unidentified armed bandits," the ministry said in a statement.

"The provisional toll of the attack... is 69 dead, including the mayor, and 15 survivors," it said.

A search was under way for the attackers. The government declared two days of national morning from Friday.

Local sources said earlier that a motorcycle-borne defence force was attacked by "heavily armed members of the ISGS (Islamic State in the Greater Sahara," who were also on motorbikes.

Another source said the target of the attack was a local anti-jihadist defence force called the Vigilance Committees, which was headed by the mayor of Banibangou district.

The assailants headed off back to Mali "taking the bodies of their fighters with them", the source said.

The defence force had recently been set up by local people following a string of attacks on farm workers in remote fields by highly mobile jihadists, a former mayor said.

The militia had set off for Adab-Dab on Tuesday to hunt for armed men who had been attacking villages and stealing cattle.

The world's poorest country by the benchmark of the UN's Human Development Index (HDI), Niger is facing jihadist insurgencies both on its western border with Mali and Burkina Faso and on its southeastern frontier with Nigeria.

The western insurgency began with incursions in 2015. The bloodshed escalated in 2017, with massacres carried out by groups affiliated to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.

Human Rights Watch estimated in August that more than 420 civilians had been killed since the start of the year in western Niger. In one incident alone, 100 people were killed in attacks on villages on 2 January.

In March, 141 members of the Tuareg community were massacred in Tahoua, a vast desert region abutting Mali.

In September, President Mohamed Bazoum, making his first visit to the region since being elected in February, said the attacks on "unarmed innocent people" were a sign the jihadists were losing ground against the army.

But on 20 October, 11 members of the National Guard and a gendarme were killed in an ambush on a regional prefect's motorcade in the Bankilare district.

The United Nations has meanwhile warned that the Tillaberi region is facing a "major food crisis", with almost 600 000 people exposed to food insecurity.

"Insecurity and recurrent attacks by suspected elements of non-state armed groups targeting farmers and civilians will have serious repercussions this year on the already precarious food situation," the UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs office warned in a report sent to AFP last month.

Suspected Islamic militants kill 19 people in Niger village

4-18-21

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Officials in Niger say 19 people are dead in the country’s troubled region near the border with Mali after gunmen aboard motorcycles attacked a village. The government said Sunday that the suspected Islamic extremists shot at worshippers as they prayed at the mosque Saturday evening during the holy month of Ramadan. In a statement, the government called the violence in Gaigorou a “cowardly attack by people who claim to be Muslims.” The West African nation of Niger has faced an unprecedented wave of attacks in the border area this year, leaving hundreds of civilians dead.

Niger: About 30 civilians killed near Malian border

Armed men attacked villages in Tahoua region 

Kane Illa

22.03.2021

Anadolu News Agency

NIAMEY, Niger

At least 30 Nigerien civilians were killed on Sunday in a series of attacks on villages in northwestern Niger near the Malian border, said a security source on Monday.

"Unidentified armed men attacked villages in the Tillia department, in the Tahoua region," a security official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

No official statement has been made and no claim of responsibility reported so far.

This is the second armed attack targeting Nigerien civilians in a week.

Last Monday, unidentified gunmen attacked and killed at least 58 civilians returning from a weekly market in the Banibangou department, Tillaberi region, near the Malian border, according to government spokesman Abdourahamane Zakaria.

The government had declared a three-day mourning to pay tribute to the victims.

The Tillaberi region has been frequently targeted by terrorist groups based in Mali since 2017, with a state of emergency declared in the area.

Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali in the Sahel are at the epicenter of one of the world's fastest-growing displacement and protection crises.

The region hosts 851,000 refugees and nearly 2 million displaced people, according to the UN refugee agency.

In January, around 100 people were killed in attacks in two Tillaberi villages after the first round of presidential elections.

Boko Haram claims attack in Niger that killed dozens

At least 27 killed in an attack on Saturday in the Diffa region, while many others are wounded or reported missing.

14 Dec 2020

Aljazeera

The Boko Haram armed group has claimed responsibility for the weekend attack on a village in Niger that left at least 27 dead.

More people were wounded and some reported missing in the assault on Saturday evening on Toumour in the Diffa region, said a senior local official on Monday.

Witnesses and other officials confirmed the attack, which came hours before municipal and regional elections were held across Niger on Sunday.

“We hereby inform the world that we are responsible for the attack in the town of Diffa in Niger Republic yesterday [Saturday],” said a three-minute video sent to AFP news agency.

The footage showed a fighter in military camouflage and his face swathed in a turban, speaking in Hausa, which is widely spoken in the region.

“We carried out the attack with the power of Allah and His help,” it said.

The group, led by elusive leader Abubakar Shekau, said more Christians could be attacked ahead of Christmas.

Local officials said some of the victims in Diffa were shot and others burned to death inside their homes.

Between 800 and 1,000 houses, the central market and numerous vehicles were also destroyed in the fire set by the attackers, they said.

Dozens of attackers arrived at Toumour on foot in the evening, having swum across Lake Chad, said one official.

The attack lasted three hours. “They first attacked the residence of the traditional chief, who only just managed to escape,” the official said.

“It was an attack of unprecedented savagery,” said an elected local official who asked not to be named. “Nearly 60 percent of the village has been destroyed.”

Attacks by Boko Haram began in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria before spreading to neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

Since then, more than 36,000 people have been killed in Nigeria and two million forced to flee their homes, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the region.

A regional military coalition has been formed to fight the group.

French NGO workers among eight killed by gunmen in Niger, local governor says

Six French citizens and their local guide and driver were killed Sunday by gunmen riding motorcycles in an area of southwestern Niger that is home to the last West African giraffes, officials said.

France 24

8-9-2020

It is believed to be the first such attack on tourists in the area, a popular attraction in the former French colony thanks to its unique population of West African or Niger giraffes. 

France's presidency confirmed that French citizens had been killed in Niger, without giving the number of dead.

French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke on the phone with his Niger counterpart Mahamadou Issoufou, the Elysee palace said.

"There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, while the other six are French," the governor of the Tillaberi region Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella told AFP.

"We are managing the situation, we will give more information later," Katiella said, without indicating who was behind the attack.

A source close to the environmental services said the assault took place at around 11:30 am (1030 GMT) six kilometres (four miles) east of the town of Koure, which is an hour's drive from the capital Niamey.

'Most of the victims were shot'

"Most of the victims were shot... We found a magazine emptied of its cartridges at the scene," the source told AFP.

"We do not know the identity of the attackers but they came on motorcycles through the bush and waited for the arrival of the tourists."

The source added that the tourists' vehicle belonged to the French humanitarian organisation ACTED.

Grisly pictures seen by AFP of the scene showed bodies lying near a torched off-road vehicle, which had bullet holes in its rear window.

Around 20 years ago, a small herd of West African giraffes, a subspecies distinguished by its lighter colour, found a safe haven from poachers and predators in the Koure area.

Today they number in their hundreds and are a key tourist attraction, enjoying the protection of local people and conservation groups.

However, the Tillaberi region is in a hugely unstable location, near the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso.

The region has become a hideout for Sahel jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).

The use of motorcycles has been totally banned since January in an attempt to curb the movements of such jihadists.

Twenty Killed in Attacks on Villages in Western Niger

May 10, 2020

NIAMEY (REUTERS) - At least 20 people were killed in attacks by unidentified gunmen on several villages in the Tillaberi region of western Niger, the governor of the region said on Sunday.

Ibrahim Tidjani Katchella told national radio Saturday's attacks were carried out by assailants on motorcycles. He gave no further details.

Tillaberi is in the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali known as Liptako-Gourma, where Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold, making swathes of the arid Sahel area ungovernable.

France, several European and African countries have set up a new task force made up of special forces to fight insurgent groups in the region alongside the Mali and Niger armies.

14 dead in Niger after Islamic extremists attack convoy

By DALATOU MAMANE

December 26, 2019

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Islamic extremists on motorcycles killed 14 security force members who were escorting election officials in the West African nation of Niger, the first large attack there since 71 soldiers were killed in a massive ambush earlier this month, authorities said Thursday.

The attack took place Wednesday night near Sanam, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the capital of Niamey, according to a government statement. Officials from the national electoral commission were in the area to conduct a census before next year’s vote.

The victims were seven military police officers and seven national guard members, the statement said.

Niger has long been vulnerable to Islamic extremism because it shares a border with Nigeria, where Boko Haram insurgents have been carrying out attacks for a decade. 

But now Niger is increasingly threatened by extremists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara group, which carried out a 2017 attack that left four U.S. service members dead in Niger. Those same extremists who are active along the Niger-Mali border also claimed the unprecedented massacre at the army camp earlier this month that left 71 dead.

Niger’s military has undergone training for years from both American and French forces, but the Dec. 10 attack near the town of Inates underscored the threat extremists still pose. French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a meeting with Niger’s president and other regional leaders until January.

Niger is also a member of the G5 Sahel regional military force — along with Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania — which has unsuccessfully tried to drive jihadis out of the vast region south of the Sahara desert. The cross-border joint force was launched in July 2017, but has been beset by financial shortfalls and other challenges.

The crisis across the Sahel has deepened over the past year, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso. Jihadi attacks on military outposts became so frequent that Mali’s president shut down the most remote and vulnerable as part of a military reorganization.

Fighting in Niger kills 5 soldiers, 30 Boko Haram militants

September 14, 2016

Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger –  Niger's defense ministry says at least five soldiers and 30 Boko Haram militants have been killed after an ambush by the Nigeria-based Islamic extremists led to fighting.

Col. Moustapha Michel Ledru said the attack on soldiers Monday near Toumour, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the town of Diffa, also injured six soldiers.

He spoke Tuesday night on national television, saying the army captured two extremists along with a large quantity of arms and ammunition.

Ledru also said two soldiers were killed Sept. 8 when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device during a patrol near Barwa locality in the Diffa region.

Boko Haram has been launching attacks across Nigeria's borders into Niger, Chad and Cameroon, which contribute to a multinational force that seeks to counter it.

70 Niger Churches Struggle to Rebuild After Islamist Revenge Rampage for Charlie Hebdo Cartoons

BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER

July 24, 2015

Christian churches in Niger are facing a lack of resources and difficult conditions in rebuilding six months after the wave of angry Islamist attacks destroyed at least 70 houses of worship in revenge for Charlie Hebdo's drawings of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

"Since these incidents, it is as if life had stopped," said Rev. Jacques Kangindé, leader of the Baptist "Roundabout" church in Niamey. "The church has become a source of curiosity for passers-by and a hide-out for idlers. Unfortunately our current church finances don't allow us to begin the reconstruction."

World Watch Monitor noted that most of the 70 churches destroyed in the attacks, as well as several Christian schools and an orphanage, have still not been rebuilt.

"We feel that, as the emotion of the first days has now passed, our case is no longer of interest to our political leaders," Kangindé added.

"They seem more concerned with preparations for the elections [due in 2016] and the fight against Boko Haram. The churches are abandoned to their fate."

Beside the property damage, Islamic mobs killed at least 10 people during the rampage back in January. The attacks sought to punish Christians for the cartoons published by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo — despite the fact that Hebdo is a secular magazine that has openly mocked Christians and is no way affiliated with any churches.

Hebdo itself suffered a terror attack in January in its offices in Paris, when Islamic gunmen shot down 12 of its workers for the Muhammad drawings.

Niger's churches have been trying to survive and rebuild since the attacks, but it has proven to be a hard task, added Rev. Zakaria Jadi of the Salama church in the capital's northern district of Bani Fandou 2.

"It is a blow to our church. For nearly a month, there was neither water nor electricity. We have done our best to allow our worship activities to restart, but we have now reached our limit. The reconstruction work may probably take some time," Jadi said.

The pastor lost both his house and his church on the same day, and spoke of the pain he felt coming back to Salama to see the damage.

"I felt very bad, such an indescribable feeling when I saw my ripped-up Bible on the ground. For a pastor, it was like my entire life was torn apart. I could not stop shedding tears," he added.

Jadi said, however, that he has sought to move on: "It was truly hurting, but I was well supported by brothers and sisters who have encouraged me a lot. And I received my greatest encouragement from God, he has really strengthened me in order to overcome that ordeal. And he also allowed me to support those who were in tears."

Dozens of churches burned in Niger by Muslim group

March 12, 2015

Alabama Baptist

NIAMEY, Niger — At least 68 churches, two of which were Baptist, have been burned in the West African country of Niger.

Panlieba Tchalieni, president of the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Niger, reported that the church burnings, carried out by Muslim extremist group Boko Haram, occurred in the Zinder region and Niamey.

“In terms of Baptist churches in Niger, we have two churches that are burned: the first evangelical church in Niger built in 1928 and another behind the Niger River built 15 years ago,” Tchalieni said.

 Boko Haram, a Nigerian-based radical jihadist group that seeks to establish Sharia law, has extended its activities to other countries in West Africa, including Niger, where it has carried out recent attacks in the southeast.

Thousands of civilians fled their homes in the southeastern Niger town of Diffa. The area was already under stress, providing refuge to some 150,000 people who crossed the border to escape the violence in northern Nigeria.

Niger, which shares much of its southern border with Nigeria, declared a 15-day state of emergency in Diffa after a series of attacks by Boko Haram.

Kojo Amo of Ghana, chairman of the western region of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship, appealed for prayer and support for the Christian church in Niger. “Please let us remember Christians in Niger in our prayers that the Lord will strengthen them in the faith during this difficult time.”

(BWA)

Niger protests over Charlie Hebdo Prophet Mohammed cartoon leaves four dead and 45 injured

Clashes between protesters and security forces leave dozens injured, national radio reports, as one Catholic and two Protestant churches were attacked

By AFP

16 Jan 2015

Four people were killed and 45 injured in a day of violent protests in Niger's second city against French magazine Charlie Hebdo's publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

Massaoudou Hassoumi, the interior minister, said a policeman and three civilians died in Friday's disturbances in Zinder in which three churches were ransacked and the French cultural centre was burned down.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside mosques after Friday prayers to vent anger at the depiction of the prophet, which is considered taboo to most Muslims.

Twenty-two members of the security forces and 23 protesters were hurt in the ensuing clashes, national radio reported, as one Catholic and two Protestant churches were attacked.

A doctor in the city's hospital told AFP that all of the dead and three of the injured had gunshot wounds.

Niger sees first slavery conviction over 'fifth wife'

28 May 2014

BBC

The pressure group Anti-Slavery International told the BBC the 63-year-old man was convicted of having what is known as a "fifth wife".

Men in Niger are allowed to have four wives under a local interpretation of Islamic law.

With a "fifth wife", no marriage takes place and the woman is treated solely as property.

Sarah Mathewson

Anti-Slavery International

Niger officially banned slavery in 2003 but anti-slavery organisations say thousands of people still live in subjugation.

The conviction took place in the town of Birnin Konni in south-west Niger, close to the border with Nigeria.

Anti-Slavery International says "fifth wives" are often girls of slave descent sold to wealthy men who view the purchase of young women as a sign of prestige.

The women face a lifetime of physical and psychological abuse and forced labour, the group says.

The case was taken to court by Anti-Slavery's partners in Niger, Timidria.

Sarah Mathewson, Africa Programme Co-ordinator at Anti-Slavery International, said it was "incredible" to achieve a conviction.

"It's been over 10 years since the law against slavery was passed in Niger and we've worked since then to bring perpetrators of slavery to justice," she said.

"We hope that this judgment will serve as a catalyst for more prosecutions, as we are pursuing many other cases before the courts."

In a landmark case in 2008, the West African regional body Ecowas found Niger's government guilty of failing to protect a woman from slavery. It ordered the government to pay compensation to the victim.

Twin Bomb Attacks Kill 20 in Niger

By DREW HINSHAW in Accra, Ghana and GÉRALDINE AMIEL in Paris

The Wall Street Journal

May 2013

Suicide bombers killed 20 people in separate attacks on a military base and a uranium-mining site in Niger on Thursday, with government officials saying the twin strikes were likely the work of militants from Mali.

The attacks underline the risk that multiple Islamic wars in the Sahara could spill over into previously peaceful Niger.

Just before dawn on Thursday, a vehicle drove into a barracks in the remote and centuries-old trading town of Agadez, exploding and killing 19 soldiers there while injuring more than a dozen, said government spokesman Marou Amadou.

The government was seeking more information on whether some soldiers were taken hostages by militants in the town, Mr. Amadou said.

French nuclear-engineering company Areva SA AREVA.FR -3.80% said its uranium mine in Arlit, about 100 miles north of Agadez, was also attacked by a car bomb early Thursday, killing one of its employees and wounding 14 others.

The U.S. military has been considering Agadez as a possible base to fly the surveillance drones it deployed to Niger earlier this year as part of a broader international effort to search for and fight al Qaeda and other Islamist guerrilla fighters in North and West Africa.

Areva, which has been a target for Islamist kidnappings and attacks over the past three years, said Niger authorities would reinforce security around its production sites. Areva has been mining uranium in the former French colony for the past 40 years.

Niger's presidency was meeting Thursday to discuss how soldiers would help protect the country's vast uranium mines, said Ousmane Toudou, media aide to President Mahamadou Issoufou. Uranium accounts for roughly a third of the country's exports, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Officials in the presidency suspect the bombers came from the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, Mr. Toudou added.

That small group of Malian fundamentalists spent 2012 imposing strict Islamic law on Mali's north. When French soldiers moved into northern Mali in January and February, the Islamist rebels fled, but have since returned to stage periodic attacks on Malian towns.

Niger, meanwhile, has enjoyed a period of peace and economic growth in recent years, even as three of its neighbors—Nigeria, Mali and Libya—have erupted in war since 2011.

Earlier this month, the government of a fourth neighbor, Chad, said it had quashed a coup attempt. Last week, southern neighbor Nigeria said it was shutting much of its border with Niger and sending thousands of troops into the border areas in pursuit of a an Islamic insurgency called Boko Haram.

"Niger is in the middle of all these problems," said Mr. Amadou.

Niger has also posted troops along its other borders to help stop the flow of militants and arms coming in and out of Mali and Libya. But securing country borders across the vast Sahara remains difficult, analysts say.

Niger is a strategic site for Areva, which has 2,700 employees and 5,000 subcontractors in the country. Niger accounted for about one-third of the group's uranium output last year.

One Areva employee and three workers of French construction company Vinci SA, DG.FR -2.00% who were kidnapped in Niger in late 2010, are still being held hostages by al Qaeda-affiliated militants in the Sahara region.

MAIN INDEX

BIBLE INDEX

HINDU INDEX

MUSLIM INDEX

MORMON INDEX

BUDDHISM INDEX

WORD FAITH INDEX

WATCHTOWER INDEX

MISCELLANEOUS INDEX

CATHOLIC CHURCH INDEX