Niger: 3 days of national mourning for terror victims

NIAMEY, Niger

Niger’s government has declared three days of national mourning starting Tuesday to pay tribute to 28 civilians killed in a weekend attack by the terrorist group Boko Haram.

The attack took place in the village of Toumour, located 75 kilometers (46 miles) from the city of Diffa, epicenter of Boko Haram attacks in the West African country.

"The attack, which targeted civilians, resulted in the death of 28 people ... and about a hundred injured," government spokesperson Zakaria Abdourahamane said in a statement read on national TV.

He said flags will fly at half-mast throughout the country during the mourning period to pay homage to the victims.

After a visit to Toumour, Issa Lemine, governor of the Diffa region, said the attack was perpetrated by Boko Haram, based in neighboring Nigeria.

"It is an indescribable tragedy. I wonder if there has been such a tragedy since the beginning of Boko Haram attacks," Lemine said.

This is the second attack attributed to Boko Haram in the Diffa region in less than a week. On Thursday night, armed men attacked the locality of Chetimari.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) condemned also the attack, expressing continuing concern.

“UNHCR is gravely concerned for the safety of over 30,000 refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) who have been sheltering in Toumour,” UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters at UN offices in Geneva.*****

Bordering northern Nigeria, Niger's Diffa region has been plagued by Boko Haram attacks since 2015. The entire region has been under a state of emergency for several months.

Over 450 acts of killing, kidnapping, sexual and gender-based violence, and other serious incidents were reported in Niger's Diffa region in the first nine months of 2020, according to UNHCR.

*Writing by Felix Tih