Niger’s ruling army announced late Monday that “more than a hundred terrorists” had attacked security forces near the border with Mali, killing 29 soldiers. This is the highest number of fatalities since the coup d’état of July 26.
First modification:
2 min
At least twenty-nine soldiers died in an attack in western Niger, the deadliest since the military took power at the end of July in this country ravaged by jihadist violence, the Ministry of Defense announced on the night of Monday the 2nd to Tuesday. October 3.
“A detachment of security forces was the target of a complex attack northwest of Tabatol, which combined the use of improvised explosive devices and kamikaze vehicles by more than a hundred terrorists,” said a statement broadcast on national television. . “The provisional balance of victims of this attack is as follows: 29 soldiers killed as heroes and two seriously injured,” the statement continues, adding that “several dozen terrorists” were killed.
The attack took place near the border with Mali, during operations aimed at “neutralizing the threat posed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS), which has a strong presence in the area.”
“External expertise”
“The communications of the terrorists, who were forced to withdraw, have been intercepted and have made it possible to establish that these criminals benefited from outside expertise,” said Tuesday’s statement, without giving further details.
This is the highest death toll since the military came to power, which justified its coup d’état on July 26 in part by the deterioration of the security situation. In response to this attack, seven soldiers died on Thursday, again in the west of the country, and another five in a traffic accident. In mid-August, at least 17 Nigerien soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in an attack by suspected jihadists near the Niger-Burkina Faso border.
The area known as the “three borders” between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. It is a hideout for Sahelian jihadists affiliated with Al Qaeda and EIGS.
*AFP; adapted from its French original
#Niger #soldiers #killed #deadliest #terrorist #attack #coup