Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali

ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.

“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.

“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.

The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.

Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.