Aboard the papal plane, 25 March, 2021 / 6:19 pm (ACI Africa).
Following the attack on a series of villages in Niger last weekend, reportedly the deadliest attack by suspected jihadists that left scores of people dead, a Catholic Missionary Cleric in the West African nation says they are “living a difficult situation.”
In an interview with ACI Africa Thursday, March 25, Fr. Arokiya Dass, a member of the Society of African Missions (SMA), appeals for spiritual solidarity.
Last Sunday, March 21, suspected jihadists on motorcycles stormed the villages of Intazayene, Bakorat, and Wistane in Niger’s Tahoua region that borders Mali in an attack that left at least 137 people dead, according to multiple media reports.
“I was saddened and shocked when I got the news that 137 innocent civilians were killed by Islamist militants in Tahoua region. We are living in a very difficult situation here in Niger, put us in your prayers,” Fr. Arokiya told ACI Africa.
According to the Indian-born SMA member, Niger’s Tahoua region located in the Catholic Diocese of Maradi where he ministers is “very insecure given that it borders Mali and Burkina Faso, the stronghold of Islamists militants.”