Violence in Niger

On January 2, armed groups shot men and boys in what was said to be a revenge attack in Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumdareye. Both areas are located in Tillabéri, a vast and unstable region where the borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso converge and where civilians have increasingly come under attack in the past two years. The latest attacks in Tillabéri comes amid national elections in Niger, as President Mahamadou Issoufou steps down after two five-year terms. A run-off vote is expected to be held on February 21, once ballots have been validated by the country's constitutional court.

“Although all the children in our care, our staff and the many participants we support in our various programs are safe, we remain concerned by the surge in attacks by dormant terrorist cells in the region bordering Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso,” says SOS Children’s Villages Niger National Director, Madougou Mamoudou. 

Madougou Mamoudou just recently joined SOS Children’s Villages Niger after working as Head of Emergency at IOR WCNA in Dakar, Senegal.  “The situation grafts itself onto an already very complex humanitarian crisis in a region that is becoming the epicenter of one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement and protection catastrophes. A coordinated and well-structured humanitarian response is indispensable to address the immense needs of the populations in this region.”  

SOS Children's Villages has been working in Niger since 1989 and is currently supporting more than 4,700 beneficiaries in both its alternative care and family strengthening programs.

 

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