At least 22 villagers were killed on Monday when gunmen on motorbikes opened fire during a baptism ceremony in western Niger’s Tillaberi region.
FCNN gathered on Tuesday that the attack occurred in Takoubatt village, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) remain active.
A local resident told AFP that 15 people were first shot dead at the baptism, before the attackers killed seven others on the village outskirts.
Elmaestro TV described the massacre as a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification.” Human rights activist Maikoul Zodi condemned the killings, writing that “once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair.”
Despite deploying thousands of soldiers, Niger’s military rulers—who seized power in a coup two years ago—have struggled to contain jihadist violence in Tillaberi. Just last week, about 20 soldiers were killed in a separate ambush in the same region.
Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to do more to protect civilians, noting that IS fighters have executed more than 127 villagers and worshippers in Tillaberi across five attacks since March.
Conflict-tracking group ACLED estimates that about 1,800 people have been killed in violent attacks in Niger since October 2024, with three-quarters of the deaths occurring in Tillaberi.
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Niger, alongside neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso—also under military rule—has expelled French and U.S. forces that previously supported their fight against jihadist insurgencies.
