Niamey – A peace agreement was signed between Fulani Bororo and Touareg Daoussak communities in southwestern Niger on August 28 to end the violence which has plagued them for decades.

The southwestern part of Niger is characterized by low levels of socio-economic development, including lack of economic opportunities, tensions over limited available resources and threats due to ethnic conflicts.

The northern strip of the Tillabéri region has long been a source of intercommunity clashes linked to the overexploitation of natural resources and recurrent armed robberies of livestock, which have been taken advantage of by violent extremist organizations (VEOs) to establish their hold in the region.

“This peace agreement represents an important step towards ending the violence that has long affected peace and social cohesion at Niger’s border with Mali,” stated one of the community leaders during the event.

The event took place in the presence of more than 600 guests among which 34 community leaders, including local leaders from the Tillabéri region and representatives from Niger’s High Authority for the Consolidation of Peace (HACP).

"In view of this agreement, I am hopeful people in the area will no longer be confronted with violence because of the involvement of all the influential community leaders from the two affected communities," said one of the community members present.

The historic event came to fruition through a series of mediations between the two communities organized by local authorities and supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Niger Community Cohesion Initiative (NCCI) programme through cultural activities such as traditional festivals and peace caravans, contributing to the overall community reconciliation.

The NCCI programme addresses key drivers of conflict, including youth unemployment, increased reach of VEOs, and long-held feelings of exclusion among different ethnic groups.

Implemented since 2014 and funded by the USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI), the NCCI programme uses a small grants mechanism which allows for quick implementation and flexibility in responding to the rapidly changing dynamics in the region.

The primary goal of the programme is to ensure that at-risk communities are resistant to internal and regional threats to its stability, particularly threats related to violent extremism. By focusing on local leaders, the programme aims to empower communities to engage with the issues at hand and to take appropriate and immediate action.

The programme’s activities target local leaders both at the government and community levels, local organizations, women and youth. NCCI supports community awareness-raising caravans and forums, trainings aimed at capacity building for leadership, small socio-economic initiatives, and sport and cultural events, among others.

NCCI works in some of the most marginalized and remote areas in the regions of Diffa and Tillabéri, where it partners with local leaders to provide communities with knowledge, skills and resources to counter the threats of VEOs.

“The region in which this peace accord was signed has long been a tense one, with various armed groups exploiting interethnic tensions to increase the space for their criminal activities,” stated Alan Bobbett, NCCI Chief of Party and Programme Manager. “This successful intervention has demonstrated that softer approaches to these conflicts can be very successful and lay the groundwork for further development in the area.”

Local authorities and HACP representatives used the opportunity to urge community members to continue to maintain peace and cultivate social cohesion, despite the difficult security climate in the region.

For more information, please contact Monica Chiriac at IOM Niger at Tel: +227 8931 8764, Email: mchiriac@iom.int.