Self-defense Militia Groups in Niger: Risking a Time Bomb

Policy Brief 17 OCT 2023 Self-defense Militia Groups in Niger: Risking a Time Bomb Delina Goxho With the encroachment of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) on areas along Niger’s western borders, the Bazoum govern- ment in Niger was witnessing the birth of self-defense militia in the regions of Tahoua and Tillabéri. [...] The first steps for the creation of the garde nomade – the name the fighters gave themselves – in the region were made in 2021, when mostly Tuareg fighters, who had at their disposal weapons collected in Libya, decided to make their way back to the villages they originally came from in the Tahoua region, and those who were al- ready in the villages decided to defend themselves from ISGS attacks ne. [...] The people most suspected by the garde nomade to be in league with the ISGS are Peuhl civilians, which shows the ethnic dimension of the conflict in Tahoua. [...] Although the High Authority for the Consolidation of Peace (HACP), the Ba- zoum government in Niamey, and also the local government and prefecture call them “mili- tia groups,” smaller local authorities such as village chiefs prefer the more neutral “vigilante committees,” and people in the villages where they are based call them “zankai” (our youths).25 This is telling of the relationship that Za. [...] However, the transition government has the tools and the contacts to be able to control such militia and bring them under its umbrella, especially Megatrends Afrika since many members of the Nigerien Armed Forces are known to be in contact with the is a joint project of SWP, IDOS and IfW.