NIAMEY, Niger – Armed attackers on motorcycles killed 137 people in coordinated attacks on villages in southwestern Niger on Sunday, the government said, making this one of the deadliest days in recent memory in a country devastated by Islamic violence.
Unidentified assailants attacked in the afternoon, invading three villages and other villages in the Tahoua region, on the border with Mali, the government said on Monday, reviewing the number of victims from an earlier estimate by local authorities of around 60 dead.
“By systematically attacking civilians, these armed bandits are reaching a new level of horror and savagery,” the newspaper said in a statement, announcing three days of national mourning.
It was not disclosed who the authorities believe was behind the attacks, but the violence comes amid a broader security crisis in the Sahel region in West Africa, which is being fueled by militants linked to Al Qaeda, Islamic State and the ethnic militias.
Unidentified assailants killed at least 58 residents in the region near Tillabéri last Monday.
Sunday’s attacks came on the same day that the Nigerian Constitutional Court declared Mohamed Bazoum the winner of the second round of presidential elections in February. Mr. Bazoum will open on April 2.
In January, 100 civilians were killed in Niger in attacks by suspected militants, with armed men shooting men and boys in what was said to be a revenge attack in the villages of Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumadareye in Tillabéri.