UPDATE: SUSPECTED JIHADISTS KILL 12 NIGER REPUBLIC TROOPS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
In the most recent incident since army officials took over last month, suspected armed Islamists reportedly killed 12 troops in Niger’s rural southwest on Tuesday, according to state television.
According to Tele Sahel, a national guard anti-jihadist operation was “the target of an ambush” on Sunday near the Tillaberi region’s Anzourou village.
It continued by saying that the enemy suffered tremendous losses as a result of the forces’ “response.”
The military governor of the province, Lieutenant-Colonel Maina Boucar, was present at the burial service for the soldiers, it stated.
According to the officials, at least 17 soldiers were killed on August 15, close to the Tillaberi town of Koutougou.
They claim that more than 100 of the attackers were “neutralized” as they fled on motorcycles, while 20 more soldiers were injured.
Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president of Niger, was held by security personnel on July 26. The West African regional organization ECOWAS has threatened to use force to have him released.
The African Union announced on Tuesday that it had placed Niger under suspension until civilian authority was reinstated and that it would consider the effects of any armed action.
The new government of Niger cited a perceived decline in security under Bazoum as justification for the coup.
The Sahel area of West Africa has been plagued by terrorists for more than ten years. They first appeared in northern Mali in 2012 before moving to nearby Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
However, an independent monitor’s count indicates that attacks in Niger decreased in the first half of this year.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, attacks on civilians decreased by 49 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same time in 2022, while the number of fatalities decreased by 16 percent.
AFP
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