A terrorist attack in Niger killed at least 44 people, according to the government

An extremist group attacked a village in the western part of Niger, according to police.
The ministry said in a statement that the attack happened on Friday afternoon in the town of Fambita in the rural commune of Kokorou. This location is close to the border with Mali and Burkina Faso. Authorities blamed the attack on the Islamic State in the Great Sahara, or EIGS.

The Associated Press tried to get in touch with the EIGS but couldn’t get through.
“At around 2 p.m., while Muslims were praying on Friday, these heavily armed terrorists surrounded the mosque to carry out their rare act of cruelty,” the statement said. It also said that the shooters burned down a market and some homes before running away.
The ministry said that at least 44 people have been killed and 13 have been seriously hurt. It called for three days of national grief.

Extremist groups, some of which are linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, have been fighting an uprising in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali for more than ten years.
After military coups in all three countries in the past few years, the ruling juntas have kicked out French troops and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for help with security. The partnership of Sahel States is a new security partnership that the three countries have promised will help them work together even more.

Analysts say that since the juntas took power, security in the Sahel, a large area on the edges of the Sahara Desert, has gotten a lot worse. There have been a record number of attacks and civilian deaths by both Islamic militants and government troops.