Niger: Three-day mourning after mosque attack kills dozens

Niger has declared three days of national mourning after a brutal terrorist attack on a mosque in the southwestern town of Kokorou left at least 44 people dead and 13 others wounded.

The attack, which occurred during Friday (21 March) prayers in the holy month of Ramadan, was attributed to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), a local affiliate of the Islamic State group. According to Niger’s Interior Ministry, the gunmen surrounded the mosque and carried out the massacre with “rare cruelty,” also setting fire to nearby homes and a local market. The assault has highlighted the increasing violence in West Africa’s Sahel region, where militant groups have gained ground in recent years, particularly after a string of military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The attack is part of a troubling rise in violence across the region, where armed groups linked to both al-Qaeda and ISIL have terrorized civilians, particularly along the borders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The violence escalated following Niger’s 2023 military coup, which led to a shift in the country’s alliances, moving away from traditional Western counterterrorism partnerships in favor of Russian support. As the region grapples with mounting insecurity, the junta-led government has vowed to bring those responsible for the mosque massacre to justice.