Niger: children killed at the border, victims of a Nigerian air strike

View of Maradi, Niger's third largest city (illustration).

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In Niger, seven children were killed and five others were injured while playing in the yard of a house in the Maradi region, on the border with Nigeria.

They were victims of a strike by the Nigerian army.

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The victims of Friday February 18, 2022 were under twelve years old and played in a concession near the border.

The governor of the Maradi region, Chaïbou Aboubacar, was alerted late Friday afternoon by the defense and security forces.

He speaks on RFI.

The Nigerian army carried out airstrikes, and I suspect armed bandits were targeted.

These strikes fell on a family on the Niger side, a few kilometers from the border.

Unfortunately, at the time of the events, there were only children playing in the yard

Chaïbou Aboubacar, governor of the Maradi region

Amelie Tulet

In Nigeria, in the neighboring state of Katsina, the military authorities are engaged in the fight against armed groups, nicknamed “the bandits”.

The governor of the Maradi region asked his counterpart on the Nigerian side to take measures to prevent similar tragedies.

►Read also: All our articles on Niger

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