Jihadist insurgency in Niger

Since 2015, the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger has been a hotbed for jihadist forces originating from Mali. The insurgency has taken place in two distinct regions of Niger. In southwest, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the Nusrat al-Islam have carried out attacks in the tri-border area with Burkina Faso and Mali. Meanwhile, in the southeast, the Islamic State in the West African Province has established control in parts of southern Niger.

Weak governance in the Sahel has been attributed the expansion of violent extremism in the region. The region's stability has been significantly impacted by frequent transfers of power, exemplified by Niger experiencing a failed attempted coup in 2021 and a successful coup in 2023.

Background
Several major attacks occurred in Niger between the 2010s and 2020s.

Niger faces jihadist insurgencies both in its western regions (as a result of the spillover of the Mali War) and in its southeastern region (as a result of the spillover of the Boko Haram insurgency). The insurgency in the west of the country began with incursions in 2015 and intensified from 2017 onwards, with massacres carried out by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State. In its southeastern regions, nevertheless, Niger mainly fights Boko Haram insurgents.

2021
It is also the first year in which attacks were carried out with frequency in the country. Attacks were carried out every month of 2021. The previous biggest attack in Niger against civilians was the 12 December 2020 Toumour attack, which resulted in 28 people killed. Both the December 2020 and January 2021 attacks were carried out during Niger's municipal and regional elections, while the February bombing specifically targeted members of the electoral commission.

January
On 2 January, the villages of Tchombangou (at 14.83°N, 1.8125°W) and Zaroumdareye (at 14.90583°N, 1.77667°W), which are seven kilometers apart, were attacked by several militants. The attack initially left 79 people dead and 75 wounded. Of the deceased victims, 49 were killed in Tchombangou and 30 in Zaroumdareye. A day after the attack, 21 more people were found dead and others succumbed to their injuries on Tchombangou, bringing the total death toll to 100. On 8 January, UN's High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman said that 73 people had been killed in the village of Tchouma Bangou and 32 in Zaroumdareye, making the total death toll 105. The government of Niger dispatched soldiers to the border after the attacks. The attackers are Islamist militants who arrived in the villages while crossing the border from Mali.

Sometime before the massacre, two Islamist militants who were seen in the area were killed by the local villagers. Those attacks are suspected to be in retaliation for those killings, according to the country's interior minister.

February
On 21 February, seven members of the electoral commission were killed, and three others injured in a landmine explosion in Tillabéri. The attack was carried out on the same day of the presidential election's second round.

March
On 16 March, armed men on motorcycles attacked a convoy returning from a market in Banibangou by the Malian border to a nearby village in Southwestern Niger's Tillabéri Region, killing 58 people.

On 21 March, militants riding motorbikes attacked Intazayene, Bakorat and Wistan, three villages in the Tahoua Region close to the Malian border, killing 137 people. The death toll would make the attack the deadliest committed by suspected jihadists in Niger's history. Newly elected President Mohamed Bazoum condemned the attacks and declared three days of national mourning.

On 24 March, at least 10 people were killed during attacks at two villages in the Tillabéri Region.

April
On 18 April, at least 19 civilians were killed and two wounded when armed men raided a village in Tillabéri Region.

May
On 3 May, a military patrol was ambushed in the Tahoua Region, resulting in the killing of 16 soldiers and the wounding of six more. It was the first attack against soldiers in the country since the beginning of the year.

On 12 May, five villagers were killed and two more wounded after militants stormed the village of Fantio, in the Tillabéri region, during Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

On 30 May, four civilians and four soldiers were killed during a raid carried out by Boko Haram militants in the town of Diffa, in the Diffa Region. The jihadists attacked the town in the late afternoon, riding in about 15 vehicles, but were pushed back by responding security forces during a long gunfight, in which six attackers were killed.

June
On 25 June, armed men attacked a village and nearby locations, killing a total of 19 civilians. Initially, the attackers stormed the Danga Zawne village, in the Tillabéri region, killing three people. They then attacked nearby farms, killing the other sixteen people.

On 29 June, Boko Haram fighters opened fire on a bus along the road between Diffa and Maine Soroa, killing four civilians, including the bus driver, two villagers and a village chief; two more were wounded. The fighters then moved on another road and opened fire on a group of soldiers, wounding six of them. A gunfight erupted, and thirteen terrorists were killed.

July
On 2 July, around 100 heavily armed “terrorists” riding motorcycles attacked the Tchoma Bangou village, killing four civilians. Security forces responded to the attack, starting a gun battle, resulting in the death of five soldiers and 40 terrorists.

On 25 July, fourteen people were killed and one more was wounded as gunmen stormed the village of Wiye. Nine of the victims are killed while working at fields.

On 28 July, 19 civilians were killed and five more wounded as militants stormed the village of Deye Koukou in the Banibangou area, near the border with Mali.

August
On 1 August, Islamist militants ambushed and opened fire on a group of soldiers in Torodi, Tillabéri Region. As the soldiers were escaping and carried the wounded, a bomb exploded. Fifteen soldiers were killed in the attack, while six more are missing.

On 16 August, gunmen on motorbikes stormed the village of Darey-Daye, Niger, opening fire against civilians while they were tending their fields, killing 37 people, including 14 children.

On 20 August, gunmen opened fire against civilians who were praying at a mosque in the village of Theim, in the Tillaberi region, killing 16 people.

On 25 August, hundreds of Boko Haram militants attacked a military post in Diffa, killing 16 soldiers and wounding nine others. In the ensuing gun battle, around 50 Islamist insurgents were killed.

October
On 11 October, ten people were killed and another was wounded when gunmen opened fire at a mosque in the village of Abankor.

On 18 October, gunmen opened fire against a police station in Tillaberi, killing three policemen and wounding seven others.

On 20 October, six members of Niger's national guard were killed and several others were wounded when gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying the prefect of Bankilare and his bodyguards, who escaped unharmed.

November
On 2 November, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS) gunmen attacked a delegation led by the mayor of Banibangou, killing 69 people. The mayor and the leader of a self-defence militia were among those killed.

On 4 November, fifteen soldiers were killed as gunmen attacked a military outpost in the village of Anzourou.

December
On 5 December, hundreds of motorcycle-equipped rebels raided an international military base in Tillabéri, killing 29 soldiers. 79 of the invaders were killed.

On 5 December, 12 Nigerien soldiers and dozens of terrorists were killed in a battle near Fantio.

On 20 December, Soumana Boura, a leading member of the IS-GS, was killed by a French drone strike.

February
On 18 February, an air attack on Nachade, Maradi Region, killed seven children and wounded five others. Local media blamed Nigeria without providing evidence, and Nigeria said it was launching an investigation.

On 20 February, at least 18 civilians were killed during an attack on their vehicle by armed men near the border with Mali.

June
On 16 June, around 40 terrorists were killed in a series of French drone strikes near the border with Burkina Faso.

February
On 10 February, at least 17 Nigerien soldiers were killed in the town of Intagamey.

March
On 10 March, Nigerien forces were attacked in the western town of Tiloa. In pursuit of the attackers, Nigerien forces entered the Hamakat area of Mali, where they killed 79 terrorists. No casualties were reported by Niger.

From 13 to 19 March, Nigerien forces killed around 20 Boko Haram militants and arrested 83 others in an operation at the border with Nigeria.

May
On 7 May, seven Nigerien soldiers were killed after their vehicle ran over a landmine near the border with Burkina Faso.

July
In the first week of July, two leading members of the IS-GS were captured in a joint operation by Nigerien and French troops near the border with Burkina Faso.

On 14 July, one police officer and four civilians were killed in an attack near the border with Burkina Faso. Two terrorists were also killed.

On 26 July, a coup occurred when Mohamed Bazoum was detained in the Presidential Palace and Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a military junta. This led to a national and international crisis.

August
On 17 August, suspected jihadists belonging to JNIM killed 17 Nigerien soldiers and injured 20 in an ambush near the town of Koutougou. Over 100 assailants were killed when they retreated. The ISSP also attacked three villages, killing at least 50 civilians.

On 22 August, suspected Islamists killed 12 soldiers in Anzourou.

October
On 2 October, over 100 Islamists killed 29 Nigerien soldiers in Tabatol using IEDs and “kamikaze vehicles”. The attack left an additional two soldiers seriously wounded, while several dozen jihadists were allegedly killed.

From 15 to 16 October, six Nigerien soldiers were killed in a series of clashes with terrorists near Niger-Burkina Faso border, officials claimed that in the same clashes' terrorists suffered 31 fatalities.

March
2024 Tillabéri attack:- On 21 March, An attack by the IS-GS killed 23 Niger soldiers and wounded another 17 in Tillabéri Region,Niger. Militants numbering over 100 attacked at night while the soldiers were in a security mission. The attack also led to the death of about 30 militants.

June
On 23 June, the Niger army killed 9 IS-GS militants including a high ranking commander "Abdoulaye Souleymane Idouwal" and arrested another 31 militants in an operation in Tillabéri region.

On 24 June, an attack by jihadist militants killed 20 Niger soldiers and one civilian in village of Tassia.A report by Niger army also stated that dozens of militants were killed in the attack and reinforcements were send to the village.

July
On 5 July, the Niger army has killed more than 100 jihadists in ground and air operation as a response to the attack on 24th june which killed 20 niger soldiers.