Drone attack in western Niger causes 17 civilian victims and injures others.

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On January 6, 2026, a drone attack occurred in Kokoloko, a village in western Niger, about 120 kilometres west of the capital, Niamey. Apparently, the attack was carried out by the Nigerien military to counteract the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS Sahel), an Islamist armed group which, according to the residents, has been active in the region for several years now. Three Islamist fighters were killed during the attack, which was conducted in the local market: “witnesses said that between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on January 6, they saw a drone flying over Kokoloko twice, then drop a munition on the village at about 1:30 p.m”; however, the strike “killed at least 17 civilians, including 4 children, and injured at least 13 others at a crowded market”, as reported by Human Rights Watch.

The killing and injuring of several civilians, among whom there were children as well, represents a violation of the laws of war, as highlighted by Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. Despite this, the military junta currently governing Niger, which took power in a July 2023 coup, “did not issue any public comment following the drone strike”. Moreover, Human Rights Watch underlines that “attacks that use a means or method of combat whose effects cannot be limited as the laws of war require, and that therefore strike military objectives and civilians without distinction, are unlawfully indiscriminate”.

Since the coup, the military junta has tightened its grip on opposition, civil society, and independent media, as reported by Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s regional director for West and Central Africa. Moreover, media freedom has been at the centre of the military junta’s objective, as “the authorities have threatened, harassed, and arbitrarily arrested journalists, many of whom say they are self-censoring amid fear of reprisals”. 

Over the last few years, violence escalated throughout the country: according to the nongovernmental group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), “Niger’s Tillaberi became the deadliest region across central Sahel, with more than 1,200 fatalities recorded — surpassing all other regions in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso”. What is even more concerning is the civilian targeting and the population’s exposure to violence, which was the highest among all regions in the three central Sahel countries. As highlighted by the ACLED, “the violence was primarily driven by the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which accounted for the largest number of fatalities, followed by operations by the Nigerien military, and then its jihadist rival Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)”.

Given the current conflict dynamics, the nongovernmental group argues that the country, and the Tillaberi region in particular, given its strategically located position, “is likely to remain a flashpoint of violence in the coming year”. 

In addition, Allegrozzi said that “foreign governments supporting Niger’s military should press the authorities to adopt measures to avoid harming local populations”, while the Nigerien government should provide compensation and support for the families of the victims. 

written by Alice Scotti