A drone strike apparently carried out by Niger’s military killed 17 civilians, among them children, in western Niger last month, Human Rights Watch said Monday.

Niger is plagued by jihadist violence in the western Tillaberi region, a flashpoint zone where the country’s borders meet those of its allies Burkina Faso and Mali.

The tri-border area has become a haven for militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group who have carried out deadly attacks for nearly a decade.

Niger’s military junta, who came to power in a 2023 coup, has struggled to contain the jihadists in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence in the region.

IS claimed an attack targeting Niamey airport last month, in a rare strike in the capital, with jihadist violence usually contained to the west and southeast.

“An apparent Nigerien military drone strike killed at least 17 civilians, including four children, and injured at least 13 others at a crowded market” on January 6, HRW said in a statement.

Three Islamist fighters were also killed in the strike, it said.

It took place in the village of Kokoloko in the Tillaberi region, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Niamey and less than three km from the border with Burkina Faso, HRW said.

Witnesses spoke of having seen a drone flying over the village twice during the morning and then drop munitions on it when hundreds of people were in the market, HRW said.

Those killed included 11 women, two men and four children, the NGO said, adding it had based its findings on statements from witnesses, NGOs and journalists.

“The strike, which also killed three Islamist fighters, violated laws-of-war prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and might amount to a war crime,” it added.

It called on Niger’s authorities to carry out a transparent and impartial investigation.

Niger’a military junta has not released a statement about the incident and did not respond to HRW’s quesions, the group said.

Witnesses said that fighters from the IS group’s Sahel branch had helped residents collect the bodies, which were buried in the village cemetery.

Nearly all the village’s 1,200 residents fled to neighbouring villages or across the border following the strike, HRW said.

It added that high-resolution satellite imagery from January 20 showed burnt areas in various parts of the village along the main road.

HRW had warned in its world report released last month that fighting in western Tillaberi and other border areas had intensified, increasing the risks for civilians.

In late September, air strikes aimed at jihadists by Niger’s army led to dozens of civilian victims in the west of the country, according to local sources.

In January 2024, several civilians were killed in military air strikes targeting columns of jihadists after an attack on a military post in Tyawa, near the border with Burkina Faso.