Gunmen invade village in Niger Republic, kill 14, injure many

Heavily armed gunmen riding on motorcycles have killed at least 14 people in an attack in a village in western Niger Republic, near the restive border with Mali.

A government official who confirmed the attack in a statement on Tuesday, said it happened on Sunday at about 3pm, when the unidentified assailants arrived at the village of Wiye in the Banibangou district, about 50km from the border with Mali.

“They targeted civilians, killing 14, including nine working in fields,” the Nigerien Interior Ministry said in the statement.

“One person who was wounded had been evacuated for treatment in the capital, Niamey.

“Security measures had been stepped up and an investigation is under way to identify and bring to trial those responsible for these cowardly and barbaric attacks.

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“There has been no claim of responsibility so far,” it added.

Previous attacks which has been linked to local affiliates of ISIS terrorists in Niger’s western Tillabery, have led to several killings in the region, including raids in January that killed at least 100 civilians.

In mid-March, an attack in the same district targeting a village market left 66 people dead, while on June 24, attacks on villages in Tondikiwindi, in a neighbouring district, killed 19 people.

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