“Several hundred terrorists” attacked an army unit in western Niger on Thursday, the defense minister said. A traffic accident during a response to the attack left seven soldiers dead and five others lost their lives. A “cleanup” operation is underway.
Published on: 09/29/2023 – 02:17
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Seven soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in western Niger on Thursday, September 28, and five others died in a traffic accident during an intervention in response to that attack, the Minister of Defense announced in a press release.
On Thursday, in the Tillabéri (West) region, “a unit of Operation Almahaou on a security mission in Kandaji was violently attacked by several hundred terrorists,” wrote Minister and General Salifou Mody. Seven soldiers died “in combat,” he added.
“During the intervention” in response to this attack, “a tragic road accident occurred in which five of our brave soldiers were lost,” the statement said. According to the document, seven people were injured and evacuated to a hospital.
Hideout for Sahel jihadists
The attackers’ motorcycles and weapons “were destroyed in the Tijiane area,” 20 km northeast of Ayorou, in the same region, the minister said. He added that “a search operation is currently underway to locate the enemy.”
Located in the so-called “three-border zone” between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, the Tillabéri region is a haven for jihadists from the Sahel, particularly those of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
The perpetrators of a coup in Niger on July 26 justified their actions with the “deterioration of the security situation”.
With AFP