Not less than 20 troopers and one civilian killed in “terrorist” assault in Niger

MadridNot less than 20 troopers and one civilian had been killed on Tuesday in a “terrorist” assault towards a detachment of the Nigerien military within the division of Tera, which is positioned within the area of Tillaberi, within the northwest of the nation and near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the place quite a few jihadist cells perform assaults towards civilians and safety forces within the space.

Niger’s Ministry of Defence mentioned the assault befell at round 10:00 a.m. native time, when a navy convoy patrolling the world was attacked by a bunch of closely armed attackers. Along with the fatalities, 9 troopers had been wounded.

Two automobiles had been broken within the assault and “dozens of terrorists had been neutralised” whereas “their technique of transport had been destroyed,” the ministry mentioned. Nevertheless, air and floor reinforcements had been deployed to find the remaining attackers.

Following the assault, the Nigerien authorities has declared three days of nationwide mourning all through the nation beginning on Wednesday. Flags will subsequently be flown at half-mast, the information portal Actuniger reported.

The assault befell simply two days after the Nigerien military introduced the dying of an “influential member” of the Islamic State group, recognized as Abdulaye Suleiman Idual, throughout a navy raid in the identical area, Tillabéri. Throughout the previous week the navy additionally “confronted intense hearth from terrorists” who had been ambushing them within the south-east of Tera, once they “neutralized” 9 attackers, whereas thirty others had been arrested, together with one wounded.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have been preventing Islamist armed teams for years, however these teams are more and more current and have management of their territory. This instability lately contributed to coups in Niger in 2023, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and in Mali in 2021. In current weeks, they’ve stepped up their operations within the space within the face of the deteriorating scenario, which has pressured its inhabitants to flee.