Two days after the death of eight people killed in an attack, the Nigerien authorities decided on Monday to "expand the state of emergency" in the locality of Kouré. Seven French humanitarian workers from the NGO Acted are among the victims.
The decision was taken at the end of an “extraordinary” National Security Council (CNS), chaired by Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou. The authorities thus decided to "extend the state of emergency" to two prefectures which were not until now affected by this measure imposed three years ago on the region of Tillabéri, a vast riparian area of the “Three borders” between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which has become a den of Sahelian jihadists, including the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS).
Access to the suspended site
Among these prefectures is that of Kollo which administers the locality of Kouré, a heavily wooded area where the last West African giraffes live, 70 km from Niamey. The state of emergency is already in force in the Diffa region (south-east) near Nigeria, the scene of recurrent attacks by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), resulting from a Boko Haram split.
The state of emergency grants additional powers to the security forces, including that "to order house searches day and night", according to the Nigerien authorities. The council also announced the “suspension” of access to the giraffes site so that “the investigations which are currently taking place can continue in all serenity”, the Nigerien Minister of the Interior, Alkache Alhada explained on television.
The seven Frenchmen and their guide were shot dead by armed men on motorcycles during a tourist excursion in the town of Kouré. The attack, denounced as "terrorist" by Niamey and Paris, is the first to target French people in this sector.
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