Niger: 44 Muslims killed by fellow Muslims outside a mosque due to sectarian differences

Image: Jihad Watch

DAKAR, Senegal — A jihadi group attacked a village in western Niger, killing 44 civilians, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

The attack occurred on Friday afternoon in Fambita, a village in the rural commune of Kokorou, near the tri-border area with Mali and Burkina Faso. The ministry attributed the assault to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).

“At approximately 2 p.m., as Muslim worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, heavily armed terrorists surrounded the mosque and carried out an exceptionally brutal massacre,” the statement said. The assailants also torched a market and several homes before fleeing.

The ministry reported a provisional death toll of at least 44 civilians and 13 severely wounded. In response, the government declared three days of national mourning.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)