The scale of the violence this year questioned allegations of progress in the fight against Islamic militants by the governments of the Sahel region in West Africa and France’s former colonial power, which has 5,000 soldiers to support them.
A security source blamed Sunday’s attacks by men on motorcycles in the remote Tahoua region, near the border with Mali, to the local Islamic State affiliate. Islamic State has taken responsibility for previous attacks against French security and humanitarian aid workers.
Niger only ended a period of mourning for previous attacks on Friday.
The growing death toll appears to be the result of the insertion of Islamists into ethnic conflicts between rival communities of farmers and pastors, said Harouna Abarchi, a civil society activist who leads peace initiatives in the area.
The militants, mostly from the Fulani pastoral community, target civilians in retaliation for the killing of Fulani by self-defense militias formed by farmers.
“It is a fragile area that has seen conflicts between communities in the past,” said Abarchi. “They are now chasing civilians, which … could set the area on fire.”
The security crisis will land at the feet of President-elect Mohamed Bazoum, who will take office next week, succeeding Mahamadou Issoufou.
Abou Oumarou, a retired colonel and former regional governor, said the repeated attacks had raised questions about the military’s response.
“How can 200 people get around on a motorcycle and nobody knows about it?” he said. “These forces need to surround these zones so that we can know when there is massive movement.”
The government said it is investigating the attacks.