Niger: Armed Attacks Leave Four Dead, Two Kidnapped in Diffa Region
Unidentified armed assailants have killed four civilians and abducted two others in two separate attacks in Niger’s troubled Diffa region, security sources confirmed on Friday.
The first incident occurred overnight between Thursday and Friday in the village of Blacici, situated between Nguel-Kolo and Chetimari, approximately 25 kilometres northwest of Diffa town. Gunmen stormed the village, killing four people before stealing livestock and fleeing the scene.
In a separate attack the same night, two civilians were kidnapped in Sansani, a locality under the Kablewa commune. According to local sources, the attackers are suspected to be members of the Bakoura faction of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
The latest wave of violence follows an earlier tragedy on Thursday, 8 May, in which seven civilians, four women and three girls were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack targeting a transport vehicle between Baroua and Bosso.
The Diffa region has been the epicentre of repeated insurgent attacks over the years, primarily linked to Boko Haram and its splinter groups.
