Five villagers killed in Niger Eid attack

Five people were killed on Wednesday in an attack on a village in the western Tillaberi region of Niger, near the border with Mali, as the country celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a local official told AFP.

“The attack took place on Wednesday morning in the village of Fantio. The death toll is five dead and two seriously injured,” the official said.

The attack was carried out by “terrorists who came on motorbikes”, another local source said, without elaborating.

Tillaberi is located in the flashpoint “tri-border” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, the site of frequent bloody attacks by jihadist groups.