“There was a mistake in the bombing, which fell on the border and caused victims in our territory, in the village of Nachadé,” said Chaibou Aboubacar, governor of Maradi.
“The victims are twelve children, seven of whom died and five were injured,” he added.
Four children died at the scene and three others died “from injuries sustained while being transported to hospital.”Aboubacar added.
According to the governor, “the parents were attending a ceremony and the children were probably playing when the airstrikes hit them.”
The official said he believed the planes were targeting “armed criminals” in the border areas, but “missed their target” and landed in the town.
Aboubacar said he visited the children’s graves on Saturday, as well as the scene of the bombing.
Several municipalities in the Maradi region are severely affected by violence by heavily armed gangs from neighboring Nigerian states, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara, according to international reports.
In 2018, Niamey reinforced military patrols along its border with Nigeria to prevent incursions by these gangs who carry out murders, kidnapping for extortion, attacks on merchants and cattle thefts, which are then driven into Nigeria.
In April 2021, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said it feared a third jihadi center could emerge in this Maradi region, exploiting the actions of Nigerian gangs and conflicts between local communities.
Niger is already facing two jihadist fronts. The Nigerian group Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), its breakaway branch, operate in the southeast, while groups affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda operate in the west.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Maradi is home to 100,000 Nigerian refugees, who have fled relentless attacks in their country.
In mid-February 2015, 36 people were killed in a bombing by an “unidentified” plane against a mosque in the town of Abadam, in the Diffa region (southeast), where Boko Haram jihadists had just carried out their first attacks. against Niger.
Source: Ambito
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