Armed men killed at least 37 civilians in an ambush in western Niger near Burkina Faso and Mali, local sources told AFP on Friday, 13 November 2026.
The attack targeted residents of the village of Tillim who were headed early on Thursday, 12 November, to a weekly market in the city of Tera in the restive Tillaberi region. They were escorted by members of a local self-defence group and “fell into an ambush by unidentified armed men”, a former elected official told AFP.
He said 37 people were killed on the spot and another succumbed to their wounds a day later, bringing the total to 38.
Among the dead were 11 members of the self-defence group, along with seven women and 20 men. A Tera resident said the dead included women and children, and several wounded people were taken to hospital.
The attackers have not been identified, no group had claimed the attack, and there was no official communication or casualty count from Niger’s government as of Friday. The death toll therefore comes from local sources via AFP and is not yet officially confirmed.
Tillaberi, on the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, has become the epicentre of jihadist attacks. Last year it became the deadliest region in the central Sahel where civilians were most targeted, according to conflict monitor ACLED.
Niger, ruled by a military junta since a 2023 coup, is battling violence by jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, with thousands killed over the last decade.
Source: AFP, 13 November 2026.
