Saturday, October 11, 2025
  • Who’sWho Africa AWARDS
  • About TimeAfrica Magazine
  • Contact Us
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • Magazine
  • World News

Home » News » Niger’s Junta Still Struggles to Combat Rising Extremist Violence

Niger’s Junta Still Struggles to Combat Rising Extremist Violence

By Chidipeters Okorie

January 29, 2025
in News
0
In this photo released by Islamic State on X, extremists ride motorcycles that are often used to launch quick attacks. Many attacks target communities, truck convoys and military vehicles in Niger.

In this photo released by Islamic State on X, extremists ride motorcycles that are often used to launch quick attacks. Many attacks target communities, truck convoys and military vehicles in Niger.

542
SHARES
4.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Niger’s ruling junta, which took power in July 2023 with promises to restore security to areas plagued by extremist violence, is facing increasing challenges as the situation worsens. Despite their assurances, attacks on both soldiers and civilians continue to escalate, leading to mounting casualties and chaos.

Since the junta’s takeover, extremists linked to the Islamic State have killed approximately 1,600 civilians, a stark increase from 770 before the coup, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. Meanwhile, al-Qaida’s affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has significantly ramped up its operations in southwestern Niger’s Tillaberi region, which borders Burkina Faso and Mali. These neighboring countries, also under junta rule, are similarly struggling to curtail extremist activity after their own democratic governments were ousted.

Extremists have targeted convoys bringing vital supplies into the landlocked nation, particularly trucks transporting food and commercial goods from Togo’s ports. Drivers often wait weeks for military escorts to reach the capital, Niamey. Terrorists, typically on motorcycles, use swift and elusive tactics to attack military and civilian convoys, making it difficult for forces to respond effectively.

The United Nations has described recent violence as “extremely lethal,” particularly in the Tillaberi region, where both soldiers and civilians are increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. In November 2024, a dozen extremists on motorcycles ambushed a company working on a dam project near Kandadji, killing three workers. The assailants fled to Mali, where the Malian government claimed to have killed 10 in an airstrike.

ReadAlso

AfDB, Niger sign $144.7 million agreement to boost energy access, economic competitiveness and resilience

‘TRIANGLE OF SHAME’: Niger Where Girls Are Still Bought Cheaply As ‘Wahaya’

In December, extremists attacked the village of Libiri, killing 21 people, looting homes, and setting fire to buildings. Just two days later, 18 more people were killed in the nearby village of Kokorou. Hadjara Zibo, a survivor from Libiri, recalled the terror: “If they reached us, they could rape and kill us,” she told The Guardian. Zibo’s husband was killed in a previous attack in 2021, and several women from the community were kidnapped by the extremists.

“I’ve seen men killed in front of the women,” Zibo said. “Women face horror and humiliation, and with no help from the junta, we are left at the mercy of the jihadists.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The Nigerien military is also suffering heavy losses. Two recent attacks on Chatoumane, a town in Tillaberi, left at least 90 soldiers and 50 civilians dead, according to witnesses and the BBC. The attackers, disguised as civilians, ambushed soldiers at a weekly market. Military personnel, in an effort to avoid harming civilians, refrained from returning fire.

The junta’s response was to downplay the attacks, claiming only 10 people had died and accusing the media of spreading false reports aimed at undermining morale. Shortly after, the junta expelled the BBC and banned its French and Hausa broadcasts in the country.

This marks a shift in the junta’s approach, moving away from cooperation with France and the United States and instead aligning with Russian mercenaries from the Africa Corps (formerly the Wagner Group). Experts have warned that the junta’s reliance on such forces has led to an increase in violent actions and a further decline in transparency.

Rahmane Idrissa, a political scientist from Niger who teaches at Leiden University in the Netherlands, observed that the junta’s strategy to tackle the growing insurgency remains unrefined: “They don’t have a real strategy, except the use of sheer force.”

Tags: CoupsNigerSahelTerrorism
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Nigeria Launches Campaign Against Lakurawa Terrorist Group

Next Post

Africa Energy Summit, leaders commit to energy transformation with more than $50billion backing from global partners

You MayAlso Like

News

President Tinubu Pardons Herbert Macaulay, Vatsa, Lawan, Grants Clemency to 82 Inmates

October 9, 2025
News

National Council of State Unanimously Approves Appointment of Professor Amupitan as INEC Chairman

October 9, 2025
News

Central African Republic become 46th member of AFC

October 8, 2025
News

Next Steps for African Energy: APPO Must Choose a Visionary Leader to Secure Its Future

October 8, 2025
Column

Monday Onyeme: A ‘spare tyre’s’ golden heart

October 11, 2025
Prince Harry watching an anti-poaching exercise in Malawi in 2019 during a royal tour of Africa to visit his charities (Getty)
News

Chad Cuts Ties with Charity Linked to Prince Harry

October 8, 2025
Next Post

Africa Energy Summit, leaders commit to energy transformation with more than $50billion backing from global partners

Getty Images

DeepSeek’s $6M Wonder: A ‘Reality Check’ for African AI Talent and Data Centers?

Discussion about this post

Kingdom in Crisis: Ogwashi-Uku Rejects Obi’s Land Grab, Villages Ready to Declare Autonomy

Faked or Factual: UNN Contradictory Claims on Minister Uche Nnaji Certificate Raise Questions of Credibility

A Minister of Lies?: Uche Nnaji’s Certificate Scandal and the Collapse of Credibility in Nigerian Governance

Nigeria’s Anglican Church Rescinds Ties with Canterbury Amid Controversy Over ‘Pro-Gay’ Female Archbishop

Uche Nnaji Finally Breaks Silence on Certificate Forgery

Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Resigns

  • British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

    1242 shares
    Share 497 Tweet 311
  • Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

    1067 shares
    Share 427 Tweet 267
  • Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

    974 shares
    Share 390 Tweet 244
  • ‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

    905 shares
    Share 362 Tweet 226
  • Crisis echoes, fears grow in Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu State

    735 shares
    Share 294 Tweet 184
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

April 13, 2023

Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

December 27, 2022
Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

September 22, 2023
‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

March 21, 2023
Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu, wife of Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra state

NIGERIA: No, wife of Biafran warlord, Bianca Ojukwu lied – Ebele Obiano:

0

SOUTH AFRICA: TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE?

0
kelechi iheanacho

TOP SCORER: IHEANACHA

0
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

WHAT CAN’TBE TAKEN AWAY FROM JONATHAN

0
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (C) speaks at a press conference on WTO's latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Ruxuan)

World Trade Organization raises 2025 global trade growth forecast from 0.9% to 2.4%

October 11, 2025

The long walk home: Tens of thousands of Palestinians head back to Gaza after ceasefire

October 11, 2025

Blind Mother and Daughter Look into Each Others’ Eyes for the First Time

October 10, 2025
A drug addict in Pretoria, South Africa, in March.Credit...Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

Addicts Are Now Injecting Blood to Get High — Yes, Blood

October 10, 2025

ABOUT US

Time Africa Magazine

TIMEAFRICA MAGAZINE is an African Magazine with a culture of excellence; a magazine without peer. Nearly a third of its readers hold advanced degrees and include novelists, … READ MORE >>

SECTIONS

  • Aviation
  • Column
  • Crime
  • Europe
  • Featured
  • Gallery
  • Health
  • Interviews
  • Israel-Hamas
  • Lifestyle
  • Magazine
  • Middle-East
  • News
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • Russia-Ukraine
  • Science
  • Special Report
  • Sports
  • TV/Radio
  • UAE
  • UK
  • US
  • World News

Useful Links

  • AllAfrica
  • Channel Africa
  • El Khabar
  • The Guardian
  • Cairo Live
  • Le Republicain
  • Magazine: 9771144975608
  • Subscribe to TIMEAFRICA MAGAZINE biweekly news magazine

    Enjoy handpicked stories from around African continent,
    delivered anywhere in the world

    Subscribe

    • About TimeAfrica Magazine
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS

    © 2025 TimeAfrica Magazine - All Right Reserved. TimeAfrica Magazine Ltd is published by Times Associates, registered Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
    • Politics
    • Column
    • Interviews
    • Gallery
    • Lifestyle
    • Special Report
    • Sports
    • TV/Radio
    • Aviation
    • Health
    • Science
    • World News

    © 2025 TimeAfrica Magazine - All Right Reserved. TimeAfrica Magazine Ltd is published by Times Associates, registered Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.