Twenty-three soldiers were killed in “an ambush” set up by “terrorists” during an army “sweeping operation” in western Niger, the Nigerien ministry announced on Thursday, March 21 evening. of the defense. The attack took place in the Tillabéri region, located in the so-called “three borders” zone between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The army carried out a “search operation” there from Tuesday to Wednesday, but “during its disengagement”, a unit was caught in “a complex ambush” during which 23 soldiers were killed and “one thirty terrorists neutralized,” according to the ministry. The operation had the “objective of reassuring populations victims of the abuses of armed terrorist groups: assassinations, extortion of funds, cattle thefts…”, he adds.
“More than a hundred terrorists on board vehicles and motorcycles” attacked this army unit between the localities of Teguey and Bankilaré using “homemade bombs and kamikaze vehicles,” the statement said. “Despite the energetic response, we deplore 23 valiant soldiers who fell on the field of honor and 17 wounded,” he adds.
The Tillabéri region is a hideout for Sahelian jihadists, including those of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) and Al-Qaeda. For years, this part of Niger has been regularly targeted by attacks by these armed groups despite the massive deployment of anti-jihadist forces.