A group of armed men attacked tourists in southwestern Niger on Sunday, killing eight people, including six Frenchmen, AFP reports with reference to Tillaberi Region governor Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella.
"There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, the other six are French," he said.
The attack took place in the Kouré reserve known as a habitat for numerous giraffes and located 60 km South-East of the capital Niamey. According to incoming information, armed men arrived at the reserve on motorcycles.
The leaders of France and Niger held telephone talks after unknown people killed six Frenchmen. According to a communique issued by the Elysee Palace on Monday, the two leaders agreed to make every effort to disclose the circumstances of the incident.
"French President Emmanuel Macron called the President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou after the murder of a group of humanitarian workers in the Kouré area 50 km from Niamey, - said the administration of the French leader. "The presidents confirmed that all means will be used to shed light on the circumstances of this deadly attack in the coming hours."
Macron expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and declared his commitment to fighting terrorist groups in the Sahel countries. On his initiative, a meeting of the national defense council will be convened on Tuesday to review the information provided by the Niger authorities on Monday.
Tillaberi Region is located in a strategically important region where the borders of three countries - Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso-converge. In this part of Africa, Islamists from the extremist terrorist group "Islamic State in West Africa", a structure of the "Islamic State" (banned in the Russian Federation), operate.
Since 2017, Tillabery has been in a state of emergency. Niger authorities in January imposed a ban on movement in Tillaberi on motorcycles.
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Based on materials from TASS