Niger: Eleven dead, nine missing after jihadist attack

Eleven soldiers killed and nine reported missing in jihadist attack against an army post in Danie, in the west Niger, in an area that 69 civilians were killed in an ambush last week, the government announced.

The attack by “A phalanx of heavily armed terrorists riding in many vehicles and dozens of motorcycles” killed eleven soldiers and wounded one, according to a defense ministry statement read on state television.

“After fierce battles, the enemy phalanx was forced to retreat, taking with it its dead and wounded.”“The air and ground reinforcements that have been sent continue to sweep the area,” the statement said.

The soldiers, who were the target, were deployed to shield the safety of thousands of villagers who had returned to their communities after the massacre of dozens of civilians by alleged jihadists.

The Nigerian government announced yesterday two days of national mourning 48 hours after the massacre of 69 villagers, members of the self-defense militia in an attack in Tilamberi, the area of ​​the “tri-national border” of Niger with Burkina Faso and Mali.

In this area since the beginning of the year, so-called jihadists have escalated deadly attacks on civilians.

According to a former mayor of the area, villagers had recently formed self-defense committees to protect farmers who are a frequent target of militants.

In the Tahua area near Tilamberi, 141 people were slaughtered in March by suspected jihadists in several small villages and camps.

This vast and volatile 100,000-square-kilometer area is located in the “tri-national border” area of ​​Niger with Burkina Faso and Mali, the scene of bloody attacks by jihadist groups swearing allegiance to either Al Qaeda or Islamic State (IS) in recent years. .

During a visit to the region in September, President Mohamed Bazoum said that “the enemy is infiltrating among an unarmed innocent civilian population” and “is involved in widespread massacres.”