Most international attention on Niger focuses on the Boko Haram conflict in the country’s east (Diffa region) and the Liptako-Gourma crisis in its west (Tillabéri and Tahoua regions). But the Maradi region, along Niger’s south-central border with Nigeria, is becoming another hotspot that could strain national efforts to curb insecurity. Since 2017, Maradi has been affected by the expansion of organised and violent banditry from neighbouring north-west Nigeria, where cattle rustling and kidnappings for ransom are rampant. Armed criminals operating from Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina states in Nigeria cross the border at night on motorcycles to attack locals before retreating to wooded areas and the Baban Rafi Forest straddling the two countries.
ISS: Organised banditry is destroying livelihoods in Niger s borderlands defenceweb.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from defenceweb.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CrisisWatch: July Alerts and June Trends 2021 crisisgroup.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from crisisgroup.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.