Suspected ISIS terrorists kill 19 in renewed attack on Niger Republic village

19 people have been confirmed dead after armed men suspected to be members of the ISIS terrorists group raided a village in the western region of Niger Republic close to the border with Mali on Sunday.

The Governor of the Tillaberi Region. Ibrahim Tidjani Katiella, who confirmed the attack, said the gunmen who likely came in from Mali, surrounded the village and started killing the inhabitants.

Katiella added that dozens of the heavily armed attackers on motorbikes stormed the village of Gaigorou and took the residents unawares.

A municipal official from Dessa also confirmed that 19 people were killed while two others were wounded in the attack.

“The assailants initially attacked people at a funeral, before going on to the village where they shot at everyone they saw,” the official said.

“What concerns us a lot is this escalation of violence and insecurity that is recently taking place in the region,” Katiella said in a statement.

“In March, 13 people were killed when armed men on motorbikes raided the villages of Zibane-Koira Zeno, Zibane Koira-Tegui and Gadabo.

“Attacks against civilians have increased since the beginning of the year with more than 300 people killed in three series of attacks in western Niger,” he added.