Armed gang attack migrant centre killing dozens and looting the camp
MIGRANT centre was attacked by gun-wielding thugs who shot dozens of guards before looting the camp.
Attacks in the region are escalating, with a near-identical raid last month
The refugees hosting area, home to some 4,000 people in Western Niger, came under fire from armed assailants who shot and killed 22 military officers stationed at the camp, injuring five more.
The remaining three staff managed to escape without injury.
United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNCHR) spokesman William Spindler said: "The armed assailants are reported to have arrived at the site in two pick up trucks.
"The assailants stayed in the area for up to 2 hours, and looted the health centre, stealing vital medical stocks.
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"They also burned a UNHCR ambulance. The attackers then stole a military vehicle and fled."
The camp, near the border with Mali, hosts mainly Malians fleeing civil unrest, but none of them are thought to have been injured in last week's bloodbath.
The African nation of Mali is part of the 'western Mediterranean' route used by migrants
But attacks in the region are escalating, with a near-identical raid last month on another Malian refugee area.
Another border camp, home to around 10,000 migrants, was struck by an armed gang who opened fire on the refugees.
An 18-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy were shot dead, and another five suffered gun shot wounds, in last week’s attack.
Mr Spindler added the agency was "troubled by the increasing number of violent incidents in the western regions of Niger bordering Mali, including ambushes, armed robbery and mine incidents”.
Te UNCHR "strongly condemns" the escalating violence in the region
He said the UNCHR "strongly condemns" the escalating violence in the region.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on the Niger government to bolster security around refugee camps.
The attackers then stole a military vehicle and fled
The African nation of Mali is part of the 'western Mediterranean' route used by migrants trying to reach Europe, according to Frontex, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.
Armed assailants shot and killed 22 military officers
A popular route via war-torn Libya and into western Europe starts in Mali, going up through Nigeria, Niger and up to Tipoli via Qatrun and Sabha, Frontex identified.
More than one million migrants have headed to western Europe since last year, with thousands more dying en-route.