Niger: two villages attacked, dozens of victims
Niger, eight people killed by gunmen
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March 22, 2021The death toll from a series of attacks conducted Sunday by armed men on motorcycles against the Nigerian villages of Intazayene, Bakorat and Akifakif, in the Tahoua region, not far from the border with Mali, is 137 dead.
This was announced by the spokesman for the government of Niger, Zakaria Abdourahmane, in a statement read on television.
The new massacre of civilians marks a further worsening of security conditions in the border area with Mali, where various terrorist groups operate, in particular the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
A tension that has exacerbated inter-community conflicts and whose management will constitute one of the top priorities of the newly elected head of state, Mohamed Bazoum.
The toll, which was initially set at 60 victims, makes the massacre the most serious ever in Niger to be attributed to suspected jihadists.
"In the systematic use of the civilian population as a target, these armed bandits have taken a further step into horror and barbarism," said the spokesman, "the government condemns these brutal acts perpetrated by individuals who know neither law nor faith" .
The government declared three days of national mourning and promised an investigation to identify those responsible for the massacre and a tightening of security measures.
The expansion in Niger of the jihadist violence that is bleeding the Sahel has caused hundreds of deaths and almost half a million displaced in the former French colony, one of the poorest countries in the world.
Bazoum is the new president of Niger,
takes office on April 2 Mohamed Bazoum is the new president of Niger and will take office on April 2: this was announced by the Constitutional Court which formally decreed his victory in the second round of the presidential elections on February 21.
Today the official inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament which came out of the polls took place.
According to the definitive data, Bazoum, 61, candidate of the ruling party (Nigerian Party for Democracy and Socialism, Pnds) obtained 55.66% of the votes, against 44.34% for his rival, the Rdr-Tchanji opponent Mahamane Ousmane.
The turnout was 62.81%.
The final results released by the Constitutional Court are almost identical to the preliminary ones announced by the electoral commission on 23 February, despite appeals by the opposition which denounced 3,000 dubious minutes and asked for some results to be annulled.
"Enough with the protests. Now we have to get to work. Popular sovereignty has been expressed", commented Abdourahmane Zakaria, spokesman for Bazoum.
At the moment, the strategy of the opposition is uncertain, which has not yet formally expressed itself on the outcome of the checks carried out by the highest judicial institution in the Sahel country.
In recent days, the opposition candidate, Ousmane had assured that he would not allow himself to be "stolen from victory", announcing that he would resist "in all legality".
A peaceful march, which he had called, has been postponed until a later date.
On 2 April Bazoum will take over from Mahamadou Issoufou, who has been in office since 2011.
With 7.6 children per woman, Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, holds the planetary fertility record.
The annual population growth rate is 3.9% per year, a world record.
At this rate, if nothing changes, the population will grow from 23 million today to 70 million in 2050.
The priorities of Bazoum and his party are all issues related to the family, the education of young people, the growth of the economy. and the fight against insecurity imposed by the jihadists.