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At least 22 Niger soldiers killed in attack on refugee camp
At least 22 soldiers were killed in Niger on Thursday when unknown assailants attacked a camp for Malian refugees, the West African nation's Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said.
The attack targeted a camp in the village of Tassalit in Niger's Tahoua region, around 525 km (326 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey.
"We received information of an attack on the camp in Tassalit. For the moment we are told there are 22 dead, but that is not a total death toll," he said in comments broadcast on state-run television TeleSahel. "The death toll could increase."
...
The camp's residents are Malians who fled to neighboring Niger after Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove back the insurgents a year later but violence is on the rise across the region's arid Sahel band.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-niger-attacks-idUSKCN1262KM
The attack targeted a camp in the village of Tassalit in Niger's Tahoua region, around 525 km (326 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey.
"We received information of an attack on the camp in Tassalit. For the moment we are told there are 22 dead, but that is not a total death toll," he said in comments broadcast on state-run television TeleSahel. "The death toll could increase."
...
The camp's residents are Malians who fled to neighboring Niger after Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove back the insurgents a year later but violence is on the rise across the region's arid Sahel band.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-niger-attacks-idUSKCN1262KM
UNHCR is shocked and greatly saddened by a deadly attack on a Malian ‘refugee hosting area’ in the west of Niger yesterday, the 6th of October
At approximately 3:00 pm, the military position in the refugee hosting area of Tazalit in the region of Tahoua, bordering Mali was attacked by armed assailants, whose identities are not yet known. The attack resulted in the deaths of 22 Nigerien military officers and the injury of five others. It is reported that the remaining three military officers who were at the post at the time, managed to escape unharmed. The ‘refugee hosting area’ currently hosts almost 4,000 refugees, however none were harmed during the attack.
The armed assailants are reported to have arrived at the site in two pick up trucks. Witnesses say that following the attack, the assailants stayed in the area for up to 2 hours, and looted the health centre, stealing vital medical stocks. They also burned a UNHCR ambulance. No UNHCR staff or partners were present when the attack took place. The attackers then stole a military vehicle and fled, before support arrived.
This is not the first attack against security forces guarding Malian refugee camps in Niger. On the 10th of September, armed assailants attacked a security post at the camp of Tabareybarey in the region of Tillabery, which also borders Mali and is home to almost 10,000 refugees. A young Malian refugee woman of 18 years was killed, as well as a 5 year old refugee boy. Five others were shot and wounded.
UNHCR strongly condemns these acts of violence against people who were working to protect and secure the safety of vulnerable Malian refugees, who have been forced to flee their country since violence and civil war broke out in 2012. UNHCR is also troubled by the increasing number of violent incidents in the western regions of Niger bordering Mali, including ambushes, armed robbery and mine incidents.
http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2016/10/57f763174/unhcr-shocked-greatly-saddened-deadly-attack-malian-refugee-hosting-area.html
At approximately 3:00 pm, the military position in the refugee hosting area of Tazalit in the region of Tahoua, bordering Mali was attacked by armed assailants, whose identities are not yet known. The attack resulted in the deaths of 22 Nigerien military officers and the injury of five others. It is reported that the remaining three military officers who were at the post at the time, managed to escape unharmed. The ‘refugee hosting area’ currently hosts almost 4,000 refugees, however none were harmed during the attack.
The armed assailants are reported to have arrived at the site in two pick up trucks. Witnesses say that following the attack, the assailants stayed in the area for up to 2 hours, and looted the health centre, stealing vital medical stocks. They also burned a UNHCR ambulance. No UNHCR staff or partners were present when the attack took place. The attackers then stole a military vehicle and fled, before support arrived.
This is not the first attack against security forces guarding Malian refugee camps in Niger. On the 10th of September, armed assailants attacked a security post at the camp of Tabareybarey in the region of Tillabery, which also borders Mali and is home to almost 10,000 refugees. A young Malian refugee woman of 18 years was killed, as well as a 5 year old refugee boy. Five others were shot and wounded.
UNHCR strongly condemns these acts of violence against people who were working to protect and secure the safety of vulnerable Malian refugees, who have been forced to flee their country since violence and civil war broke out in 2012. UNHCR is also troubled by the increasing number of violent incidents in the western regions of Niger bordering Mali, including ambushes, armed robbery and mine incidents.
http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2016/10/57f763174/unhcr-shocked-greatly-saddened-deadly-attack-malian-refugee-hosting-area.html
