The Nigerien government has declared 48 hours of national mourning following the gruesome killing of 37 people by suspected insurgents on Monday.

“Flags will be flown at half-mast across the country with immediate effect,” a statement from the government said on Wednesday.

The government said its determination to “pursue the fight against terrorism until the final victory” has been bouyed by the murder and thus urged locals to become more vigilant.

On Monday, the gunmen on motorbikes besieged Darey-Daye village and attacked villagers working on their farms.

Four women and 13 children were among the 37 persons murdered.

According to the report by AFP, the massacre bore the hallmarks of rebel attacks that have battered western Niger since 2015, when an armed campaign spread from Mali.

In March, over 60 people were killed by gunmen at Tilkaberi region in Darey-Daye.

The village is located in the department of Banibangou, in the so-called “tri-border” area where the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge.

The area is notorious for terrorists attacks by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

A Human Rights Watch report last week said more than 420 civilians have been killed in rebel attacks in Tillaberi and Tahoua, while many have fled from their homes in 2021.