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Five civilians, four soldiers and 40 armed attackers were killed on Sunday in a clash in the southwestern region of Niger near the border with Mali, according to a statement from authorities in Niger’s capital, Niamey.
Around 100 heavily armed motorcycle “terrorists” attacked the village of Tchoma Bangou on Sunday afternoon, the Nigerien defense ministry said in a statement read on state television.
The “rapid and vigorous reaction” of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS), “made it possible to repel the attack and inflict heavy losses on the enemy,” the ministry said, adding that its soldiers had seized motorcycles and a cache of weapons. , including AK47s and machine guns, attackers.
Tchoma Bangou is located in the Tillabéri region, bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, a so-called “three-border” area which is regularly targeted by jihadist groups.
Tillaberi has been in a state of emergency since 2017. Authorities have banned motorbikes day and night for a year and ordered the closure of some markets suspected of supplying “terrorists”.
Islamist insurgents, threatening Boko Haram
Niger has fought for years jihadist insurgencies on its southwest flank with Mali, as well as Boko Haram on its southeast border with Nigeria. The repeated attacks have left hundreds dead and forced thousands to flee their homes.
In January, 70 civilians were killed by gunmen in Tchoma Bangou and 30 in the nearby village of Zaroumadareye.
Last month, 19 people were killed in villages in the same commune, officials said.
According to United Nations estimates, there are more than 300,000 internally displaced people in Niger, many of whom have fled terrorist violence that has escalated since 2015.
Last week, on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron held a summit with his Mauritanian, Chadian, Malian, Burkinabé and Nigerien counterparts – the G5 Sahel – to discuss the security implications of the impending downsizing and possible departure of French. troops from the troubled region.
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