Niger declares 2 days of mourning after nearly 70 people killed

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Niger’s government on Thursday declared two days of national mourning after 69 people including a mayor were killed in a “terrorist attack” in the country’s southwest.

The attack on Tuesday targeted a delegation led by the mayor of Banibangou in the Tillaberi region near the Malian border, the government said in a statement.

Fifteen people survived, several were wounded and a dozen are missing, it said.

Following the tragedy, the government declared a national period of mourning of 48 hours from Friday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

But earlier, Interior Minister Alkache Alhada told state television that a search operation was underway.

In August, militants carried out an attack in the same area in which 37 people were killed.

Last month, 10 people were killed when militants attacked a mosque in Banibangou during prayer time.

The attacks targeting civilians and the army are blamed on Daesh/ISIS and an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 500 deaths have been recorded according to official data and thousands displaced fleeing the violence.

The Tillaberi region is facing a major food crisis, with nearly 600,000 people facing food insecurity due to insecurity and recurrent attacks by suspected elements of non-state armed groups targeting farmers and civilians, according to the UN.