Niger: the circumstances of the attack specified, the area searched by the security forces

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Eight dead in an attack on a humanitarian organization vehicle in Niger. Two Nigeriens and six French people lost their lives on Sunday. The vehicle they were in was targeted by armed men who arrived on motorcycles. They fled. The Nigerien security forces carry out search operations, aided by the French army. The victims were on their way to a park where West Africa's last giraffes live. An area which had not been the subject of any security alert and which was not closed to visitors. 

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The eight bodies of French and Nigerien victims of the Kouré animal park were transferred to Niamey by the firefighters, The forensic police began to investigate and took samples on the ground, According to several sources the tourists were ambushed tense by terrorists, reports our correspondent in Niamey, Moussa Kaka.

Riddled with bullets, the 4x4 vehicle of the NGO Acted caught fire, The bodies of the first two victims, the driver of the car and one of the expatriates, are completely charred, Five other people were shot at point blank range and a woman, who had managed to escape, was caught by her executioners and killed in her turn.

The victims are six French and their two Nigerien companions. The French were, at least for some, employees of the non-governmental organization ACTED.

According to the Minister of Defense, Issoufou Katambé, the Nigerien defense forces and their Western partners are combing the area.The rainfall is currently high and the Kouré region is very wooded so reconnaissance planes have come to support the forces in ground. Despite the state of emergency in the Tillabéri region, there is a significant circulation of motorcycles in rural areas remote from the military forces and it is often on these two wheels that terrorists refuel, ammunition and lead their attacks.

This Sahelian zone, precisely, very close to that of the “3 borders” between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. The six French nationals and the two Nigeriens went to the Kouré reserve where we can observe the last wild giraffes of West Africa. An area colored in orange on the map of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which means that travel is not recommended there unless there is a compelling reason. But the region had not known attacks so far ... hence the shock felt both in Niger and in France. 

Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou condemned a "cowardly and barbaric" terrorist attack, and sent his condolences to the families of both countries. His French counterpart Emmanuel Macron also denounces this attack and promises that everything will be done to elucidate the circumstances. A defense council will be organized tomorrow Tuesday at the Élysée. Another message, that of the Malian president, who denounces the violent extremism which continues to prevail in the Sahelian space.

► Also to listen : Seidik Abba: "  The terrorists are determined to extend the threat to all of West Africa "

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• Terrorism
• Niger
• France