Intercommunal forums seek to end deadly violence in Niger

A diverse group of individuals including traditional chiefs, officials, human rights activists, and NGOs have been actively engaging in the vast Tillaberi region of western Niger in recent months. Their primary objective is to organize forums aimed at alleviating community tensions that have resurfaced due to the massacres of civilians in the landlocked West African nation.

Historically, conflicts between different ethnic groups in the region were resolved through peaceful means by traditional or religious leaders. These disputes often centered around land or access to water, involving settled farming communities such as the Djerma and Hausa, as well as nomadic herders from the Fulani and Tuareg groups.

However, since 2015, a permanent climate of mistrust and vengeance has arisen due to atrocities and cattle raids committed by jihadist groups associated with the Islamic State (IS), predominantly suspected to be from the Fulani community.

Tillaberi is situated in the volatile “three borders” zone, encompassing Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) operate. The ISGS controls significant areas near Burkina and Mali, with its fighters having approached as close as 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the capital, Niamey.

Moussa Sadou Kalilou, the spokesperson for Tillaberi’s traditional chiefs, highlighted the emergence of a new form of insecurity during a recent television appearance alongside Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum. He emphasized the need to combat the ethnic “stigmatization” that perpetuates these tensions through ongoing awareness-raising efforts.

The month of May witnessed a particularly bloody period in the region. Violent clashes between the Djermas and Fulanis in villages and Niger river islands resulted in a dozen deaths and the displacement of 18,000 people. On May 27, 13 individuals, including women and children, were killed in the towns of Anzourou and Sakoira, triggered by an accusation of cattle theft.

“The United Nations characterized the situation in mid-May as “very volatile and unpredictable,” marked by “repeated attacks” and “inter-communal reprisals” leading to population movements. Boubacar Diallo, president of a cattle herders’ association in north Tillaberi, expressed concern about the worsening of inter-communal conflicts due to the growing stigmatization of the Fulani people. He lamented the fact that the entire community was being tarnished by the actions of a small group of “terrorists.””

“Niger’s Interior Minister Hamadou Adamou Souley assured the residents of Anzourou earlier this month that efforts would be made to explain the importance of peaceful coexistence by visiting towns and villages”.

“Notably, forums such as these have already achieved success in resolving conflicts peacefully. In the northern and eastern parts of the Tillaberi region, “community peace agreements” have been signed between the parties involved, facilitated by the Swiss-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD). These agreements, resembling non-aggression pacts, have been reached in locations such as Banibangou in January and Tondikiwindi in June”.

“Both towns experienced the mass killing of hundreds of villagers by Islamic State fighters in 2021. Prior to these agreements, villagers had formed self-defense militias, leading to violent clashes with jihadists and reprisals against herders”.

“Five months after the Banibangou agreement, Mayor Alhassane Adoum reported no incidents or bloodshed along the previously vulnerable main roads. This positive outcome has encouraged farmers who had abandoned their fields for three years to resume sowing seeds, according to the mayor”.