Drone attack on Niger market kills 17 civilians including children

At least 17 civilians, including children, were reportedly killed in a Nigerien military drone attack near the Burkina Faso border in January, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The rights group said the strike occurred on 6 January in Kokoloko village, located in the volatile Tillabéri region of western Niger, an area long affected by insurgent violence linked to jihadist groups.

Tillabéri lies at the crossroads of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali and has for years been a hotspot for armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have carried out repeated assaults on civilians and security forces.

In a statement issued on Monday, HRW said the drone strike hit a busy local market, killing at least 17 people, including four children, and leaving no fewer than 13 others injured. The organisation added that three suspected Islamist fighters were also among those killed.

Witnesses told HRW that a military drone was seen circling the village earlier in the day before releasing munitions while hundreds of residents were gathered at the market.

The village is situated about 120 kilometres west of Niger’s capital, Niamey, and lies less than three kilometres from the Burkina Faso frontier.

Human Rights Watch said the attack appeared to breach international humanitarian law, which prohibits indiscriminate strikes, and warned that it could amount to a war crime.