Niger: 37 people killed in attack on village in Tillaberi region

Al-Jazeera reported on 17 August 2021 that armed assailants on motorcycles attacked the village of Darey Dey in Niger"s Tillaberi region, close to the border with Mali and killed 37 people, including 14 children. The assailants attacked while the villagers were working in the fields. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW, 11 August 2021), more than 420 civilians have been killed in attacks in Tillaberi and the neighbouring region of Tahoua since January 2021. Yonas Dembele, World Watch Research analyst comments: "Niger"s Tillaberi region has been the target of many attacks partly because it is located in the notorious "˜tri-border zone" between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, one of the hotspots for violence in the Sahel region. Coincidentally, the majority of Niger"s small Christian population lives in this region. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on 17 August, but several militant groups linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group are active in the region." Yonas Dembele continues: "Over the years, Islamist militants have attacked Christians and churches in a bid to propagate their ideologies. While it is not known if Christians were specifically targeted in these attacks, such incidents clearly show that the area is not safe, and these militant groups will stop at nothing to achieve their aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate."