For any weapon, they carry a bow or a ridiculous slingshot. They are young, courageous, and have joined one of the self-defense groups which are multiplying in western Niger, in the famous area known as the “Three Borders”. An immense region of nearly 100,000 km², in fact almost all of this part of Niger, north of Niamey, wedged between Mali and Burkina Faso.
The capital is not very far and yet the authorities are unable to ensure the security of the region. 100 people were killed in two villages in January, then 141 in March in a village near Tillabéri. In May, an ultimatum from the armed groups to leave the region even caused the exodus of more than 10,000 people.
These repeated attacks on the villages around Tillabéri push the villagers, especially the younger ones, to defend themselves. Their weaponry is rudimentary and it takes a good dose of courage to dare to face men armed with assault rifles – jihadists or cattle thieves. – with a bow! Most often, these militiamen are content to stand guard, without our real deterrent power being known. To pretend to more is very dangerous.
On November 2, the mayor of Banibangou, Oumarou Bobo, paid with his life for this revolt, and with him nearly 70 of these militiamen who left in search of an informer in a jihadist den. “Bandits saw us from the top of a hill, they rushed towards us and opened fire, killing many of our men.”, told AFP Saïdou Garbèye, a religious leader who survived the expedition with 15 other men.
It was the first operation of this committee against jihadists since its creation a few months ago. “Ill-equipped, under-trained civilians could not defeat jihadists who even challenge our national armies”, notes a local journalist quoted by AFP.
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Five days after the massacre, the President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum made the trip to the village to honor the dead, recalling that it is up to the army to do the work. “I understand that you are not satisfied with our output, with our performance. If you think that you can ensure your defense, it is legitimate, but the one who must ensure your defense and on whom you must rely is the State”, did he declare.
The authorities in Niger are wary of these village militias which are beginning to flourish. They are not prohibited, just tolerated, and will not be equipped by the government. Indeed, the risk is twofold : on the one hand, for the population who participate in it without military training or armament and just becomes a target of choice for the jihadists ; and on the other hand, because the government fears intercommunity drifts, settling of scores between villages when different ethnic groups live together.
Neighboring Burkina Faso has set up the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, army auxiliaries whose mission is to serve as an intelligence agent, but also to mount fire. The volunteers are trained in the handling of weapons and are equipped with an assault rifle. A training of two weeks too short in the eyes of some, especially as these volunteers have become targets for the jihadists. In the end, this did not solve anything on the security front, but increased the number of civilian deaths.