An unprecedented wave of displacement has swept through the southwestern region of Niger, bordering Benin and Nigeria. The sudden movement of civilians follows a series of violent attacks perpetrated by armed groups in mid-July, targeting villages in the Loga district of the Dosso region, according to a government official stationed in the area.
At least three villages were struck on July 17, resulting in multiple civilian casualties and injuries. The scale of the violence has forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes, disrupting ongoing agricultural activities in the region.
Local authorities and state media have attributed the attacks to terrorist groups, a term widely used by Nigerien officials to describe jihadist factions linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. These groups have been responsible for persistent insecurity in the country, now under military rule for the past three years.
The displaced populations have sought refuge in neighboring areas, with many relocating to Tahoua, near the Nigerian border, while others have converged on Dogondoutchi, a major town roughly 100 kilometers from Loga, as shown in state television footage.
By 2025, the United Nations reported that Niger had over 450,000 internally displaced persons, primarily concentrated in three regions plagued by jihadist activity over the past decade: Tillabéri in the west (bordering Burkina Faso and Mali), Diffa in the southeast, and Tahoua in the center-east.
The border area connecting Benin, Niger, and Nigeria has witnessed a sharp rise in jihadist attacks in 2025, with lasting infiltration by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, according to conflict data collected by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).