A soldier from the Niger army (illustration).

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REBECCA BLACKWELL / AP / SIPA

Soldiers from Niger engaged in the fight against jihadists are "responsible for the summary executions" of dozens of civilians in the Tillabéri region (west), Abdoulaye Seydou, head of an NGO who participated in the campaign, told AFP on Friday. an investigation by the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH).

"There were indeed executions of unarmed civilians and the mission discovered at least 71 people who were killed in six mass graves," he said.

“It is elements of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) which are responsible for these summary and extrajudicial executions.

"There was use of bladed weapons and small arms," ​​added the president of the Pan-African Network for Peace, Democracy and Development (REPPA).

However, "we do not have any clues or elements that can establish the responsibility of the army as an institution and of the military hierarchy", he noted.

Hands tied behind your back

“More than 70 various witnesses were interviewed,” he said.

The investigation which took place "over a period of three months from May 20 to July 6, 2020" was conducted after "allegations of disappearances of 102 people", according to the CNDH.

“(In) all six mass graves, which were exhumed, the bodies all had their hands tied behind their backs, the turban on their necks with bullet holes.

The forensic doctor's reports are there, ”Alichina Amadou Koulguéni, secretary general of the National Human Rights Commission, told reporters.

The CNDH is a public body made up of representatives of the government, parliament, NGOs, unions and lawyers.

One of the pits contains "at least thirty bodies", some of which show "signs of violence, multiple fractures of the arms, forearms and skull," Amadou Koulguéni described.

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