March 2021 Darey-Daye massacre

2021 massacre in Niger
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On March 15, 2021, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked the village of Darey-Daye, Tillabéri Region, Niger, killing sixty-six civilians. The attack occurred two months after the Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumdareye massacres, the deadliest attacks on civilians by ISGS in Niger.

Background

At the start of 2021, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, a predominantly Fulani organization based in the tri-border area between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, began attacking civilian areas, especially with non-Fulani populations. The first major attack was the Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumdareye massacres that killed 105 people, and on the same day of the attack in Darey-Daye, ISGS fighters in Mali killed thirty-three Malian soldiers during the battle of Tessit.[1]

Massacre

At around 5 p.m. on March 15, 2021, armed men stopped four buses carrying civilians in the villages of Chinagodrar and Darey-Daye that were returning from the weekly market in Banibangou.[2] The jihadists forced the passengers off, and separated them into groups by ethnicity and gender.[3] All Zarma males were killed including one Hausa driver.[3] Twenty-nine people were killed in this initial massacre, according to a survivor.[4] The jihadists then raided the village of Darey-Daye, where they burned granaries and shot indiscriminately at civilians.[5] These attacks on Darey-Daye killed thirty-seven people.[6][7][3]

The Nigerien government stated on March 16 that fifty-eight people were killed and one was injured in the massacre. This toll was later raised to 66 civilians killed.[2] While no group claimed responsibility, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara had been accused of and claimed responsibility for various similar attacks in the surrounding area.[8]

Aftermath

A week after the attack, three villages in Tillia were attacked by ISGS, killing 137 people in the deadliest massacre in Nigerien history.[8] On August 17, 2021, thirty-seven people were killed in Darey-Daye in a second attack by ISGS.[9]

Further reading

  • Niger: Surging Atrocities by Armed Islamist Groups - Human Rights Watch, August 11, 2021

References

  1. ^ www.thedefensepost.com https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/03/17/niger-attacks-58-killed/. Retrieved 2024-08-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Au Niger, 58 morts dans des attaques près du Mali" (in French). 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  3. ^ a b c "Niger: Surging Atrocities by Armed Islamist Groups | Human Rights Watch". 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  4. ^ "Niger: 58 dead in 'barbarous' attack – DW – 03/17/2021". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  5. ^ "At least 40 killed in fresh attack in Niger near Mali border". Africanews. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  6. ^ www.thedefensepost.com https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/03/17/niger-attacks-58-killed/. Retrieved 2024-08-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "Society is divided as attacks in Niger leave more than 137 dead". Open Doors UK & Ireland. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  8. ^ a b ""I Have Nothing Left Except Myself" The Worsening Impact on Children of Conflict in the Tillabéri Region of Niger" (PDF). Amnesty International. July 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Dozens killed in Niger village attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-08-27.