NIGER MILITARY DRONE ATTACK KILLED 17 CIVILIANS IN JANUARY

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Agency report

An apparent Niger military drone strike killed 17 civilians, including children, in western Niger near the Burkina Faso border last month, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

Niger has been grappling with jihadist violence in the Tillaberi region, a flashpoint area where the country’s borders meet those of Burkina Faso and Mali.

Jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have dominated the region, carrying out deadly attacks for nearly a decade.

“An apparent Nigerien military drone strike killed at least 17 civilians, including four children, and injured at least 13 others at a crowded market” on January 6, HRW said in a statement.

Three Islamist fighters were also killed in the strike, the organization added.

The strike occurred in the village of Kokoloko in Tillaberi, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of the capital, Niamey, and less than three kilometres from the Burkina Faso border, HRW said.

Witnesses reported seeing a drone flying over the village twice during the morning before dropping munitions on the crowd at the market, HRW said.

“The strike, which also killed three Islamist fighters, violated laws-of-war prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and might amount to a war crime,” it added.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power in a 2023 coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence in the region.

Last month, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack targeting Niamey airport.