At least 44 killed in Niger jihadist attack, authorities say

22/3/2025 17:13

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.



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.