Niger government must investigate massacres, says rights group
More than 310 people have been killed in Niger since January 2021 in massacres perpetrated by alleged armed Islamist groups.
CAPE TOWN, May 6 (ANA) – Rights advocacy group Human Rights Watch has said that Niger’s new government should investigate alleged war crimes by all sides in Niger’s armed conflict since October 2019.
According to a statement issued by the group on Wednesday, in a letter addressed to the new justice and defence ministers of the country, the rights organisation said that this is the perfect opportunity for Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum’s new administration to prioritise accountability so that the country can move forward.
More than 310 people have been killed in Niger since January 2021 in massacres perpetrated by alleged armed Islamist groups, according to reports.
On January 2, 100 people were killed in attacks on two villages in the Mangaize district of Tillabéri. In March, attacks by suspected jihadists in villages in Niger’s Tahoua region left 137 people dead, the Guardian reported.
Niger’s Tillabéri region, which lies within the tri-border area between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, has been plagued by jihadist attacks for many years, reported BBC news.
AFP reported that the killings underscore the massive security challenges facing Bazoum, who was elected in February.
Jonathan Pedneault, crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that with a rising civilian death toll, scores of disappeared people, and increasing unlawful attacks by armed Islamist groups, it is clear that abuses by one side leads to abuses by the other.
According to an investigation by the rights group, security forces were allegedly responsible for at least 185 of the 496 deaths reported.
The rights group added that the failure of Niger’s military justice system to seriously investigate alleged abuses by military personnel against civilians points to the need for civilian investigators and courts to handle these cases.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
