According to BBC News reporting on 5 November 2021, a delegation led by the mayor of Banibangou was attacked in the Western Tillaberi region, near the border with Mali. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which left
69 people dead. An official statement blamed "unidentified armed bandits". In a related report on 5 November 2021 (by Reuters), heavily armed attackers
clashed with soldiers stationed outside the village of Dagne near the border with Mali, killing 11. The unidentified group came in a convoy of cars and motorbikes.
World Watch Research analyst Yonas Dembele comments: "Although no groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks reported above, militants affiliated with the Islamic State group have killed hundreds of civilians in 2021 in the same area, despite government efforts to regain control. The militants" strategy appears to be to seize control of rural communities and drive out national and international military forces. Niger is facing jihadist insurgencies both on its western border with Mali and Burkina Faso and on its southeastern border with Nigeria. The attacks are often carried out by groups affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated in August 2021 that more than
420 civilians had been killed since the beginning of 2021 in western Niger (HRW, 11 August 2021)."
Yonas Dembele adds: "Niger"s tiny Christian minority makes up about 0.3% of the population, with the majority of Christians living in the Tillaberi region. While they are not directly targeted in these attacks, they remain at risk because the jihadist presence severely hinders their religious freedom. Indeed, the whole Sahel region is under serious jihadist threat."
