TERRORIST ATTACK: NIGER REPUBLIC REPORTS 44 DEAD, DECLARES THREE-DAY MOURNING

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The Nigerien government has confirmed that 44 civilians were killed in a terrorist attack on Fambita village in the Tillabéri region.

Authorities attributed the attack to Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) militants. Counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama shared the information on his X handle.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the attack took place on Friday during Ramadan as worshippers were praying. The heavily armed assailants surrounded the mosque before launching the assault.

“These terrorists, in an act of extreme cruelty, massacred innocent civilians at prayer before systematically setting fire to the market and homes during their retreat,” the statement, broadcast on national television, said.

The attack also left 13 people injured, including four in critical condition. In response to the tragedy, the government has declared a 72-hour national mourning period from Saturday, 23rd March, during which flags will be flown half-mast across the country.

The Minister of State and Acting Minister of the Interior, Army Corps General Salifou Modi, strongly condemned the attack, calling it a “heinous act committed on a Friday, the holy day of Islam, in the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadan.”

He further stated that the attack demonstrated that “terrorists and their supporters do not uphold any religious ideals.”

The government has vowed that “these heinous crimes will not go unpunished,” pledging to track down the perpetrators, their sponsors, and their accomplices to bring them to justice.

The massacre comes just two days after the Nigerien military carried out an air-to-ground raid targeting suspected EIGS militants at the Kiral gold mining site in the same region.

The operation reportedly resulted in the deaths of 45 suspected terrorists, according to an official statement.