In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday strongly condemned Sunday’s attack by unidentified gunmen against Tuareg civilians including children in the Tahoua region of the Republic of Niger on Sunday.
The UN chief expressed his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the government of Niger called on the Nigerien authorities to “spare no effort” in identifying and swiftly bringing the perpetrators to justice.
“The secretary general reaffirms the solidarity and support of the United Nations to the government and people of Niger in their efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime,” said UN chief.
Guterres urged countries in the Sahel to continue their efforts, in close collaboration with regional organizations and international partners, to address these serious threats to security and stability in the subregion and beyond.
The following are the informations that was gathered by a group of Tuareg human rights activists through testimonies from survivors and close family members.
“I want to shed additional light on the atrocities that took place in Intazayen and Bakorat on Sunday, March 21:”
- The army contingent stationed in Intikane (25kms away) was alerted soon after the first attack on Intazayen. The army did not show up until the next day.
- The killers attacked Intazayen first and killed 15 people. Then another group attacked Bakorat where they killed 130 people.
- Bodies are still being discovered as the killing spree continued along their path in the area. Even today, two more bodies were found.
- After they killed innocent, unarmed men, women and children; the killers then fled with their livestock.
- They shot 5 camels with calves which had refused to be led away.
- They found some of the victims in the middle of their rituals preparing for prayer; and shot them.
- One woman tried to cover her kids to protect them, and they killed her along with her young kids.
- The killers fled the scene after their carnage, with a car, grains, and all of the provisions they could find.
- They burnt some of the victims and their tents.
On March 15 attackers riding motorcycles killed more than 137 people in coordinated raids on villages in southwestern Niger on Sunday, making it the bloodiest violence to hit the country in years, the government said.
