Tesker or Tasker is a village and rural

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesMamane Barka Malam Mamane Barka (1958/1959 – 21 November 2018) was a Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

(b. 1958). The sparsely populated commune extends over a wide area and spans two major regions: the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

region in the south and the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert in the north. In the northeast, it rises up to a height of at the

Termit Massif The Termit Massif (Termit Mountains or simply the Termit) is a mountainous region in southeastern Niger. Just to the south of the dunes of Tenere desert and the Erg of Bilma, the northern areas of the Termit, called the Gossololom consists of b ...

. It is bordered by

Fachi Fachi is an oasis surrounded by the Ténéré desert and the dunes of the Erg of Bilma in eastern Niger, placed on the western edge of the small Agram mountains, Agram mountain outcropping. It has an estimated population of 2,000 people. It is a ...

and Tabelot in the north,

N'Gourti N'Gourti is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

to the east,

Alakoss Alakoss is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

, Kellé and N'Guelbély to the south and

Tenhya Tenhya is a village and rural commune in Niger. As of 2010, it had a total population of 20,533 people. Tenhya located in the northern Sahel. The neighboring municipalities are Aderbissinat in the northwest, the northeast Tabelot, Tesker to the ea ...

to the west. The municipality is divided into 36 administrative villages, one traditional village, three hamlets, 29 camps and 144 watering places.

History

During the elections in the early 1990s, the vote from Tesker had to be cancelled as only 1,203 out of 8,785 voters were able to cast votes as a result of serious logistical problems. New elections had to be organised for Tesker and the PNDS eventually won the election. The rural community of Tesker emerged as an administrative unit in 2002 as part of a nationwide administrative reform. In November 2004, the government's High Commission for the Restoration of Peace hosted a reconciliation forum in the town.

Demographics

There were 24,703 inhabitants in Tesker, according to the 2001 census, and 33,544 inhabitants in 2010. Arabs live in the north of the rural community, and members of the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

and

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

subgroups such as the Kanimatane, Bororo'en, Dabanko'en, Uda'en, Tuntumanko'en and

Wodaabe The Wodaabe ( ff, Woɗaaɓe, Adlam: ), also known as the Mbororo or Bororo (Adlam: , ), or Pullo, have a name that is designated to those of the Fula ethnic group who are traditionally nomadic and considered to be "ignorant of Islam." For this ...

are residents as well. A 2004 government investigation looked at abuse against civilians by security forces, while a 2005 reconciliation agreement was secured by the Government's High Commission for the Restoration of Peace after fighting ensued between Tuareg and Toubou communities in 2002 and 2003.

Economy and infrastructure

The main town of Tesker has a military installation and a large cattle market. The main occupation is pastoral farming.

References

{{Authority control Communes of Niger Zinder Region