Tazalit attack

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Tazalit attack
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Niger
Location Tazalit refugee camp, Tahoua Region, Niger
DateOctober 6, 2016
2:22 pm
TargetFlag of Niger.svg Nigerien Armed Forces
Deaths22 Nigerien soldiers killed
Injured6 injured
  • 5 soldiers injured
  • 1 civilian
PerpetratorUnknown jihadists

The Tazalit attack, [1] also known as the Tazalit massacre, [2] occurred on October 6, 2016, when unknown jihadists attacked Nigerien forces at the Tazalit refugee camp in Niger, killing dozens of Nigerien soldiers. The attack was the deadliest attack on Nigerien forces so far during the jihadist insurgency in Niger.

Contents

Background

Jihadist groups from Mali have travelled through Niger and conducted attacks on Nigerien forces sporadically in the early and mid-2010s. These attacks mainly took place in Tahoua Region, on the Nigerien-Malian border, and took place when jihadists trafficked arms from Libya. [3] Two main groups in the area that have attacked Nigerien forces in the past are Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb led by Abdelmalek Droukdel and Mokhtar Belmokhtar and elements of Al-Mourabitoun and MOJWA led by Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (the future founder of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara). [4] Sahrawi's forces and AQIM have been in open conflict since 2015, and Islamic State caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi recognized the creation of ISGS in October 2016. [4]

At the time of the attack, the Tazalit refugee camp hosted 4,000 Malian refugees. [5] Another area in Tahoua region had come under attack by unknown jihadists earlier that month, with no reaction from the Nigerien government. [6]

Attack

The perpetrators of the attack came from Mali, with 30 to 40 men arriving on board four vehicles and a motorcycle. The attackers arrived at the Tazalit camp at 2:22pm at October 6, and took place very rapidly. [3] [6] The jihadists drove their pickups directly into the camp's security post, machine-gunning the soldiers who had gathered for lunch. [6] The soldiers were taken completely by surprise and were unable to fight back. Nigerien soldiers who survived the initial attack were finished off with a bullet to the head. [6]

The attackers remained in control of the Tazalit camp for two hours. Civilians were not targeted in the attack, but the jihadists looted food stores, pharmacies, armories, and set fire to an ambulance before leaving. [5] [6] [7] The jihadists took a Nigerien army vehicle, a UNHCR vehicle, and an ambulance with them when they fled. They fled northwest towards the Malian border. [5]

Aftermath

Perpetrator

Both AQIM and the newly-formed ISGS were suspected of the attack. [2] [5] [8] Survivors of the attack stated that the perpetrators were Tuaregs. [3] On October 7, the Nigerien Minister of Defense claimed that the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) had participated in the attack. He attributed the attack to "narco-terrorist groups", and said that Nigerien authorities didn't distinguish between AQIM, Ansar Dine, and the HCUA. [9] The Coordination of Azawad Movements, a coalition that includes the HCUA, denied the allegations. [10] Investigations by Nigerien authorities pointed to Malian armed groups' involvement. A few weeks after the attack, local sources reported that armed groups based in Kidal Region, notably GATIA, had some of their militants attack the Tazalit camp. [11] The perpetrators of the attack had a base in Ilamawan, near Midal, Tahoua Region. [11]

Casualties

Nigerien Prime Minister Brigi Rafini, Nigerien security officials, and UNHCR all stated that 22 Nigerien soldiers were killed in the Tazalit attack. Of the 22, 14 were national guardsmen, five were gendarmes, and three were soldiers. [12] [1] Five soldiers were injured, and only two or three soldiers managed to escape. One civilian was injured in the attack. [12] [5] The Tazalit attack was the deadliest attack by jihadists during the jihadist insurgency in Niger up to that point. [3] A two-day national mourning was declared by Nigerien president Mahamadou Issoufou on October 7. [2] [13]

Reactions and aftermath of Tazalit

The United Nations and African Union condemned the attacks. [7] [14] In November 2016, the Nigerien government dismantled the Tazalit refugee camp in accordance with UNHCR. [1] All 4,000 refugees at Tazalit were moved to the Intikane refugee camp, where 18,000 refugees were already living. [1] The majority of refugees moved to Intikane beginning on January 21, 2017, and ending on January 31, although those that stayed behind would no longer receive aid from UNHCR outside of identification cards and forming self-defense groups. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State – Sahel Province</span> Islamic State affiliate

The Islamic State – Sahel Province(ISSP), formerly known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS), is an Islamist militant group adhering to the ideology of Salafi Jihadism. IS-GS was formed on 15 May 2015 as the result of a split within the militant group Al-Mourabitoun. The rift was a reaction to the adherence of one of its leaders, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui, to the Islamic State. From March 2019 to 2022, IS-GS was formally part of the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP); when it was also called "ISWAP-Greater Sahara". In March 2022, IS declared the province autonomous, separating it from its West Africa Province and naming it Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP).

The 2017 Ayorou attack occurred on 21 October 2017 when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked a Nigerien military outpost in the village of Ayorou in southwestern Niger, killing 13 gendarmes. Occurring just weeks after a similar attack in the area killed four American and four Nigerien troops, the attack was carried out by ISGS gunmen who crossed the porous border from Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamist insurgency in the Sahel</span> Insurgency throughout the Sahel and West Africa

An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.

On November 18, 2019, Malian troops were ambushed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara during a patrol of Tabankort, in Ménaka Cercle, Mali.

The battle of Boulikessi took place between September 30 and October 1, 2019. Jihadists from JNIM and Ansarul Islam attacked Malian bases in Boulikessi and Mondoro, killing between 40 and 85 Malian soldiers, making it the deadliest attack for the Malian army since the Second Battle of Kidal in 2014.

On January 5, 2015, militants from Katiba Macina and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) overran Malian defenses and briefly captured the city of Nampalari, Mali.

On March 8, 2010, jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attacked Nigerien forces at their base in Tilwa, Tillabéri Region, Niger.

On October 30, 2014, militants from al-Mourabitoun attacked a refugee camp in Mangaïzé, Niger as part of a simultaneous three-pronged attack on Nigerien forces in Mangaïzé, Ouallam, and Bani-Bangou.

On November 8, 2016 Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) fighters attacked Nigerien forces in Bani-Bangou, Tillabéri Region, Niger.

On February 22, 2017, jihadists from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien forces in Tilwa, Ouallam Department, Niger.

On March 6, 2017, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) militants attacked Nigerien forces between Wanzarbe and Yatakala, Niger.

Between May 31 and June 1, 2017, clashes broke out between Nigerien forces and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) near Abala, Niger. These clashes expanded to the Nigerien-Malian border near Bani-Bangou, and on June 1 the ISGS militants were confronted by French, Malian, and Tuareg militias when the militants fled towards Ménaka Region, Mali.

On July 5, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked Nigerien forces near Midal, Niger. The attack was the first claimed by JNIM in Niger.

On May 14, 2019, jihadists from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien forces in Baley Beri, Niger, killing twenty-seven Nigerien soldiers.

On July 1, 2019 Islamic State in the Greater Sahara militants attacked the mining town of Inates, Tillabéri Region, Niger, killing eighteen Nigerien soldiers.

On March 12, 2020, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara militants attacked an outpost of the National Guard of Niger in Ayorou, Niger, killing several soldiers. French and Nigerien counterattacks killed dozens of ISGS militants.

On July 31, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin ambushed Nigerien forces near Torodi, Tillabéri Region, Niger, killing 18 Nigerien soldiers.

On February 10, 2023, militants from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara ambushed Nigerien soldiers at Intagamey, Niger, killing at least seventeen people.

On August 19, 2019, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked Burkinabe forces in Koutougou, Soum Province, Burkina Faso. 24 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in the attack, and Burkinabe authorities were forced to abandon military outposts in several northern Burkinabe towns following the attack. The attack was the deadliest jihadist attack in Burkinabe history up to that point.

The Tin-Ediar attack or Déou attack occurred on February 17, 2023 when Burkinabe soldiers were ambushed by the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISGS) near the village of Tin-Ediar while travelling between Déou and Oursi, Burkina Faso. Over 70 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in the ambush, and Burkinabe authorities stated 160 ISGS fighters were killed.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 unhcrniger. "UNHCR Niger" . Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Des djihadistes massacrent 22 soldats au Niger". Le Figaro (in French). 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Niger: l'armée victime d'une attaque jihadiste meurtrière à Tazalit". RFI (in French). 6 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 "The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) - Mapping armed groups in Mali and the Sahel". ecfr.eu. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Niger : 22 soldats tués dans l'attaque d'un camp de réfugiés maliens dans l'ouest du pays - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Niger: ce que l'on sait de l'attaque des 22 soldats à Tazalit". RFI (in French). 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  7. 1 2 "UN condemns deadly attack on 'refugee hosting area' in western Niger | UN News". news.un.org. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Attaque de Bani Bangou au Niger: une démonstration de force du groupe EI?". RFI (in French). 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Niger: l'attaque de Tazalit menée par des "groupes de narcoterroristes"". RFI (in French). 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  10. ↑ United Nations Security Council S/2016/1137 30 December 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Niger : où en est l'enquête concernant l'attaque contre le camp de réfugiés de Tazalit ?". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  12. 1 2 "A Tazalit, une attaque visant l'armée nigérienne tue 22 soldats". Le Monde.fr (in French). 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Niger: Attackers kill 22 soldiers near refugee camp". AP News. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  14. ↑ Kodjo, Tchioffo. "The African Union strongly condemns the attack on a refugee camp in Niger-African Union - Peace and Security Department". African Union,Peace and Security Department. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
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