Victim of the worst jihadist attack in its history, Niger paid tribute, Friday, December 13, to the 71 soldiers killed Tuesday in the attack on the military camp of Inates, during a solemn ceremony of lifting of the bodies and with prayers in mosques. The country observes a national mourning for three days after this attack of unprecedented violence, claimed by the organization Islamic State.
"I decided to come to testify to the recognition of the inconsolable but in no way defeated homeland to these men (...), our heroes, our martyrs", declared president Mahamadou Issoufou on the tarmac of air base 101 of Niamey, in front of the body bags covered with the flag of Niger, in the presence of the families of the victims.
"Islam is destroyed from within in the name of Islam"
"Your death is glorious (...). You have made the sacrifice of your lives to protect Niger from the barbarity of those who, like vampires, only aspire to drink blood, those who destroy not only lives but our religion, "said the president. "Islam has never known a weapon of destruction as massive and as formidable as terrorism. Islam is destroyed from within in the name of Islam," he continued.
While public opinion in the Sahel countries has disputed for several months the French military presence in the region, Mahamadou Issoufou has promised "to further strengthen our alliances and the coordination of our forces to fight together against the enemies of freedom, against the 'ignorance and obscurantism'.
>> To see, The French Interview 24: "Mahamadou Issoufou: 'We need an international coalition against the jihadists in the Sahel'"
The Head of State decorated each of the soldiers with the Cross of Valor, who will be buried in the "Carré des Martyrs" on the base.
Collective prayers and songs calling for "tolerance and peace"
Under a hangar, on the site of the funeral ceremony, about 200 people, wives, children and relatives, were seated, eyes reddened.
In Niger, some institutions or companies have suspended work at 10 am for collective prayers in memory of the soldiers killed. The government has canceled all the celebrations for the 61st anniversary of the Republic of Niger, scheduled for December 18 in Tillabéri, in the west of the country, the region where the town of Inates is located.
Most public and private media have broadcast religious songs and Muslim sermons calling for "tolerance and peace".
With AFP
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