Like many countries in the Sahel belt, Niger is facing a surge in violence. Clashes in the northern part of the country between the Niger Movement for Justice and government forces have become more frequent since 2007, resulting in poor security conditions and population displacement. Mines and highwaymen have made the situation even worse.

The ICRC serves as a neutral intermediary at the request of the parties involved and endeavours to perform the humanitarian tasks that fall within its mandate. In particular, the ICRC has:

• treated, at the request of the Movement for Justice, wounded soldiers and police officers who had been taken prisoner;
• transferred to hospital those whose condition required hospitalization;
• visited detainees, whether held by the government or by the Movement for Justice;
• held war-surgery seminars in Agadez, Arlit and Niamey.

Because of mounting tension in Mali and Niger, the ICRC has set up a mission in the Sahel under the responsibility of its delegation in Dakar, Senegal. The task of the three expatriates and 20 local employees working in offices in Bamako, Mali, and in Niamey and Agadex, Niger, is to develop the ICRC’s traditional assistance and protection activities in both countries.


For more information on the current humanitarian crisis in Niger please see the site of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies