seven soldiers killed in attack by suspected jihadists

Seven soldiers were killed Thursday, September 28 in western Niger during an attack by suspected jihadists, announced in a press release the Minister of Defense and General Salifou Mody, appointed by the military regime resulting from a coup. State. Five others also died in a traffic accident during a response to the attack.

Thursday, in the Tillabéri region, “a unit of Operation Almahaou [antidjihadiste] on a security mission in Kandadji was violently attacked by several hundred terrorists”thus clarified the press release, which mentioned seven dead soldiers “in combat” And “a tragic traffic accident” afterwards. According to the document, seven people were also injured and evacuated to a hospital.

A country undermined by jihadist violence

The motorcycles and the weapons of the attackers “were destroyed in the Tijiane area”, 20 km northeast of Ayorou, in the same region, said the minister. “A search operation is currently underway to track down the enemy”he added.

The generals in power are the result of a coup d’état on July 26. They overthrew the elected president Mohamed Bazoum, justifying their act by “deterioration of the security situation” in the country.

Niger, in its south-east, is confronted with jihadist violence from Boko Haram and its dissident branch Iswap (Islamic State in West Africa). In the west, where the Tillabéri region is located, the country is undermined by the same type of violence in the so-called “three borders” zone between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.