Human Rights Watch on Friday described as a “war crime” the summary execution of two alleged Boko Haram fighters in southeastern Niger last month. The human rights organisation investigated images circulating on social media of two men being run over by army tanks, and said the Nigerien government had confirmed the incident near the border with Nigeria. The Diffa region is home to 300,000 Nigerian refugees and displaced persons fleeing from jihadist abuses since 2015, according to the United Nations. In the west, on its borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger also faces frequent attacks from Sahelian jihadist groups including the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. Jihadist violence, often intertwined with inter-communal violence, resulted in 4,000 deaths in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in 2019, the UN has said.

Source: The Guardian June 12, 2020 17:37 UTC