A couple were killed in South-West Niger this week after armed individuals fired into the air inside a church, locals told AFP on Friday.

The incident occurred in the Dosso region of Niger, a Sahel country that has been plagued for a decade by a conflict pitting the military against fighters said to be linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

ACLED, a non-governmental organisation monitoring conflicts around the world, said nearly 2,000 people had died as a result of such violence in Niger this year.

“The attack happened in Mailo village at around 11:00 pm on Wednesday night. Christians were attending mass in the church when armed individuals came in and fired into the air. There was panic,” a local requesting anonymity told AFP.

“A man and his wife ran and hid in their house but (the assailants) followed them and they were killed.”

Another local said some of the churchgoers had fled to neighbouring villages and others had headed for the bush.

He said the attackers had made off with cattle.

Relations between Christians and Muslims in Niger are generally peaceful.

Suspected jihadists are nonetheless blamed for attacks on churches in the western region of Tillaberi between 2018 and 2021, and the killing of 111 Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi this year.

AFP