Attack against French company in southeastern Niger suggests jihadist link-up, increasing Chad Basin terrorism risks to foreigners

Seven local employees of French mineral and water drilling firm Foraco and an official from Niger's hydraulics and sanitation ministry were shot dead on 22 November when unidentified attackers opened fire on their compound at Toumour, in Niger's southeastern region of Diffa. Another five employees were injured, and two company pick-ups were stolen. The unit was reportedly out on patrol when the assault occurred. A company official said Foraco had been operating in Niger for 20 years without any problems. There has been no claim of responsibility but the local governor blamed the attack on the Islamic State's Wilayat Gharb Afriqiyya (previously part of jihadist group Boko Haram).

Significance: While there have been frequent Boko Haram attacks against the military and civilians, the specific targeting of a foreign company in Diffa region is rare, unlike in the Agadez region, where French firms Vinci and Areva suffered terrorist attacks in 2010 and 2013. Several days before the Diffa attack, the Nigerian military claimed a new terrorist group known as Jama'atu Nus'ratul-Islami wal-Muslimina (JNIM) and associated with Boko Haram splinter group Ansaru (hitherto largely dormant) was active in northeastern Nigeria. It shares the same name as the Mali-based JNIM jihadist organisation, which has threatened to attack foreign companies, especially French. On 8 November, the Malian JNIM launched an appeal to Peul (Fulani) communities in the sub-region, including in Nigeria, to join its insurgency. Ansaru draws much of its support from Peul communities. Further attacks in Diffa targeting international companies and foreign aid organisations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' refugee camps and the nearby Chinese-run Soraz oil refinery, would support the Nigerian claim. As demonstrated in Mali, co-operation between jihadist groups increases their capacity, which would raise terrorism risks, including kidnap-for-ransom, in the wider Chad Basin area of southeastern Niger, northeastern Nigeria, western Chad, and northern Cameroon. This would also indicate that the appeal to Peul groups is being heeded. Attacks against French military, humanitarian, and commercial interests in the region will likely intensify if JNIM confirms the reported killing in Mali of Peul jihadist leader Amadou Koufa, who made the appeal to Peul (Fulani) communities, by French counter-terrorism troops on 23 November.