Niger: at least 19 dead in the attack on a bus returning from Ouagadougou
Nigerien soldiers in Tillabéry (Illustration image).
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Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
A bus from a Nigerien transport company was attacked on Wednesday March 16, 2022 by a group of heavily armed jihadists on the Dori-Tera axis.
At least 19 passengers, including the bus driver returning from Ouagadougou, were killed.
Niger's interior minister confirmed the deadly attack.
The injured were admitted to the hospital in the nearby town of Téra.
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With our correspondent in Niamey
,
Moussa Kaka
The attack on the bus coming from Ouagadougou took place in Nigerien territory a few kilometers from the capital of the prefecture of Téra.
At first,
the jihadists
, on board several dozen motorcycles, according to witnesses, intercepted a first bus, not far from the village of Fono.
After searches and identity checks, the bus and its passengers were allowed to continue their journey towards Téra.
But this extraordinary luck did not smile on the fifty passengers of the second bus violently attacked by the terrorists.
At least 19 people were massacred and the bus set on fire.
Some passengers who managed to escape are still missing, as for the wounded found by the army, they were admitted to the hospital of Téra.
In recent weeks, there has been an upsurge in terrorist violence in the area of the three borders, in particular the prefectures of Téra, Bankilaré and Torodi.
This insecurity ranges from the planting of explosive devices on roads to the massacres of civilian populations.
According to the Secretary General of the Employers' Organization of Modern Stations in Niger, if there is no security on the border sections with Burkina Faso, "
the business of transport companies will stop
".
A ray of hope comes from European cooperation.
Indeed, according
to President Mohamed Bazoum
, Belgium is going to build a large military barracks in Torodi for the Nigerien army.
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Niger
Terrorism