Niger: Army drone strikes kill at least seven

Amid growing instability across Niger, at least seven people have died following army drone strikes in western Niger, according to RFI and agencies on July 27th.

The village of Chinagodrar, located north of the Tillabéri region, was attacked by two drone strikes on July 24th during a funeral gathering.

Chinagodrar residents also reported that several people were injured during the strikes; the most seriously injured were evacuated further south to the Banibangou health district.

Residents have denounced the strikes, which were allegedly carried out against terrorists, despite witnesses saying no terrorists were at the funeral.

Niger’s military has not commented on the July 24th drone strikes; Nigerien authorities have previously justified attacks as counterterrorism operations against jihadists hiding in villages.

Tillabéri, which borders Mali and Burkina Faso, has increasingly become an epicentre for jihadists from groups affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

JNIM, an al-Qaeda-affiliated organisation, is particularly active in the Tillabéri region, where they have carried out attacks against soldiers.

On July 17th, at least 16 soldiers were killed when JNIM attacked an army detachment as they left the Tera military base in the Tillabéri region.

The group is also active in Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger’s junta-led Sahel allies and founding members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a cooperation pact designed to counter terrorism through shared military and intelligence resources.

All three countries are former French colonies that have cut ties with Western powers in favour of security and strategic partnerships with Russia.

Without evidence, Niger and Mali have implicated France in sponsoring terrorism to destabilise the Sahel; Niger has also accused the Ivory Coast and Benin of acting as French proxies over their ongoing ties to Paris.

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger’s junta leader, implicated France in the January 29th attack on the Niamey International Airport, despite the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the attack.

On July 3rd, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso began their official withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which they have accused of politicising human rights and denounced as a “tool of neocolonial repression.”

The ICC has expressed concerns about human rights abuses in West Africa, particularly by Russian mercenaries from Wagner and the Russian Africa Corps.

Maghrebi has contacted Niger’s Ministry of National Defence for comment on the July 24th drone strikes, but has not received a response at the time of publication.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org