Egypt condemns attacks in Niger killing 100 villagers

CAIRO – 4 January 2021: The Arab Republic of Egypt condemned Monday the cruel shooting attacks that targeted two villages western Niger killing around 100 innocent people.

The assaults took place Sunday by 100 militants who were riding motorbikes also giving rise to 75 injuries. The villages are located in the Tillaberi region infested with Islamist terrorists who pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda.

Hundreds of civilians got killed last year in attacks by those groups attempting to seize territories, as reported by DW.  

In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt extended condolences to the government and people of Niger as well as the families of the victims asserting solidarity with the fellow African state.

Egypt also stressed its stance on combating violence, extremism, and terrorism underlining the necessity of concerting regional and international efforts to face all the reasons and aspects of such diseases.

It is noted that Egypt and Niger are both members of the The Community of Sahel-Saharan States, called Cen-Sad.

The Community was established in 1998 in a conference held in Libya and attended by a number of African leaders and heads of states. Cen-Sad now has 24 members, that are Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.
 

While the First Treaty focused on cooperation among member states of Cen-Sad, the revised treaty – approved by member states in Chad on February 16, 2013 - concentrates on regional security and sustainable development.
 

The new treaty aims for the preservation of peace and security in the Community of Sahel-Sahran States; reinforcement of political dialogue; combat of transnational crime including human, arms, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism.
 

Cen-Sad also targets combating desertification, drought, climate change; achieving economic, trade, scientific, social, and cultural cooperation; developing the infrastructure; and, encouraging the freedom of movement of individuals, goods, and services between member states.
 

In order to achieve such goals, each member state must ban the use of its lands for any activities that target the national sovereignty of fellow member states that have to exchange help when necessary, and coordinate stances on matters of mutual interest as much as possible.
 

Member states shall not intervene in each others' internal affairs, and abstain from taking measures that would impede the achievement of the community's goals. The body and its employees are granted the privileges and immunities provided by Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961.