Birni-N'Konni explained

Official Name:Birni-N'Konni
Other Name:Konni
Settlement Type:Commune
Pushpin Map:Niger
Pushpin Label Position:top
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Niger
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Niger
Subdivision Name1:Tahoua Region
Area Total Km2:861.0
Population As Of:2012[1]
Population Total:149,414
Population Urban:63,169
Population Metro:312,886 (Birni-N'Konni department)
Coordinates:13.7917°N 5.25°W
Elevation M:270

Birni-N'Konni (also Birnin-Konni or shortened to Konni/Bkonni) is a town in the Tahoua Region of Niger, lying immediately north of the border of Nigeria and west of seasonal Maggia River. It is an important market town and transport hub and as of the 2012 census had a population of 63,169. The town is the historic centre of the small pre-colonial Hausa state of Konni. The name comes from the Hausa for "Walled Town of Konni", and many Hausa towns (such as Zinder) designate the old citadel neighbourhood the "Birni".[2]

Konni is known for its vernacular architecture including traditional granaries and is regarded as a centre for smuggling between Niger and Nigeria. Birni-N'Konni's contemporary importance rests on the surrounding agricultural lands and its place on the N1 highway, the main east-west highway linking Niger's capital Niamey and the nation's main eastern cities of Maradi and Zinder. It also sits astride one of several main routes between the Hausa populated territories of southern Niger and northern Nigeria, with the Nigerian transport and trade centre of Illela, Sokoto State just 18 km to the south.

The town was also the site of a major massacre on 8 May 1899 when the French Voulet–Chanoine Mission attacked the region.[3] On 27 October 2020, an American citizen was kidnapped in the area.[4] No group claimed responsibility for the abduction. He was freed October 31.[5]

External links

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. http://citypopulation.de/Niger-Cities.html Niger: Regions, Cities & Urban Centers - Population statistics
  2. E. P. Stebbing. The Encroaching Sahara: The Threat to the West African Colonies. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 85, No. 6 (Jun. 1935), pp. 506–519
  3. Book: Gentil, Émile . Émile Gentil

    . Émile Gentil . 1971 . La chute de l'empire de Rabah . .

    • News: Guyotat . Régis . La colonne infernale de Voulet-Chanoine . French . . 26 September 1999 . 22 September 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060513062050/http://www.ldh-toulon.net/article.php3?id_article=399 . 13 May 2006 . dead . dmy-all .
  4. News: Paquette. Danielle. 27 October 2020. U.S. citizen kidnapped in West African nation of Niger, officials say. Washington Post.
  5. https://ne.usembassy.gov/pr-11092020/ U.S. Embassy in Niger