A release from Niger’s military command said the attackers, identified as terrorists – a category used to refer to members of Islamist groups -, broke into the villages of Kokorou and Libiri on motorcycles, without specifying whether the victims were civilians or military personnel. Both scenes of the killings are located on the border with Burkina Faso, also a member of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) along with Niger and Mali, governed by military juntas established after they overthrew the respective civilian governments.

In a separate event, the three AES members were given weekend respective ultimate from the Economic Community of West African States, in the form of a program to hand over power to civilian governments with a deadline starting next January 29 and expiring on July 29 of 2025.

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