Nearly 130 people have been “summarily executed” by Islamist insurgents in Niger in separate attacks since March, a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
The rights group says gunmen carried out a series of brutal attacks, including a mass murder at a mosque in the western Tillabéri region in June, where more than 70 worshippers were shot dead during prayers.
“There were bodies everywhere, one on top of the other,” a local woman, who lost three of her sons in the attack was quoted by HRW as saying.
The spate of attacks is a major blow to the credibility of Niger’s military junta, as it promised to cub the insurgency when it took power after deposing President Mohamed Bazoum in 2023.
About 1,600 civilians have been killed by Islamic State (IS) group fighters in Niger since the coup, HRW says, citing figures collected by the conflict monitoring group Acled.
The jihadist groups have also destroyed schools and religious sites, and have imposed severe restrictions on the freedoms of people based on their interpretation of Islam, HRW said.
“Islamist armed groups are targeting the civilian population in western Niger and committing horrific abuses,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior researcher at HRW.
“Nigerien authorities need to do more to protect people living in the Tillabéri region,” she added.
The army has not yet commented on the HRW report.
Five men and two boys were killed in May when fighters attacked Dani Fari area and burned at least a dozen homes, the report said.
“The bodies were scattered … riddled with bullets. There wasn’t a single body out there that had fewer than three bullet holes. The bullets had hit people in the back, arms, head,” a herder told HRW.
“We found the bodies of the two children lying on their backs,” the herder added.
Witnesses said the army “did not adequately respond to warnings of attacks, ignoring villagers’ requests for protection”, HRW reported.
No group has claimed responsibility for the five attacks documented by the rights group, but eyewitnesses blamed IS fighters, who, HRW says, are identifiable by the red-banded turbans they wear.
The Tillabéri region borders Burkina Faso and Mali, and has been a focal point of the insurgency for the past decade.
Niger – along with its two neighbours, which are also ruled by the military – have formed an alliance to fight the jihadists and have scaled back ties with the West, turning to Russia and Turkey instead for their security needs.
But the violence has continued, putting them under pressure to come up with more effective strategies to tackle the violence.
