Gunmen have attacked two villages in Niger’s vast Tillaberi border region, killing a dozen people working in the fields, security and local sources told AFP on Friday. “There were 12 deaths following the attack on Thursday afternoon by armed men,” a municipal official in Anzourou district said. The unstable and arid Tillaberi region lies in the tri-border zone where southwestern Niger meets Mali and Burkina Faso — a hotbed of activity for insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. The United Nations said last week that nearly 11,000 people in southwestern Niger had fled their homes this month. The Tillaberi region has 150,000 internally displaced people, according to the UN.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 22, 2023 15:04 UTC