17 Niger Sodiers Killed 20 Injured In An Attack Near Mali
A border attack by armed groups killed at least 17 soldiers from Niger, the country’s Defence Ministry announced.
The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday night that “a terrorist ambush near the town of Koutougou [52km southwest of Torodi]” targeted “a detachment of the Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN) moving between Boni and Torodi”.
It also said that 20 more soldiers were wounded and taken to Niamey, the capital city.
The army claimed that they “neutralised” more than 100 attackers during their withdrawal.
The border region where Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso meet has been the hotspot of violence by armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel area for the past 10 years.
The bloodshed has sparked military coups in all three countries since 2020, with Niger being the most recent one on July 26 when President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted.
Armed groups from northeastern Nigeria – where Boko Haram started its campaign in 2010 – also target southeast Niger.
The coup leaders blamed Bazoum’s removal on the country’s insecurity and poor governance.
But Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Abuja in neighbouring Nigeria, said that the military government in Niger made things harder by cancelling agreements with French military and suspending aid from its other partners.
He said on Wednesday that “it will be difficult now for Niger to source for equipment, for weaponry and deal with the rising cases of attacks by these armed groups in the Sahel … it may have to rely on countries like Mali and Burkina Faso for expertise and also from the mercenary groups that have been operating in these two countries”.
He added that “but how much can they give? How long will that be? They too are facing a similar problem”.
