The number of deaths in jihadist attacks in Niger has increased since the coup on July 26, according to the NGO Acled.
A unit of Operation Almahaou (anti-jihadist) on a security mission in Kandadji, was violently attacked by several hundred terrorists,” the Minister of Defense announced in a press release.
In this attack, seven soldiers were killed and five others died in a traffic accident during an intervention in response to this attack.
Niger, in its south-east, is facing 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. It is a hideout for Sahelian jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
In mid-August, at least 17 Nigerien soldiers were killed and 20 injured in an attack by suspected jihadists perpetrated near the border between Niger and Burkina Faso. This attack was the deadliest known since the coup.
The number of deaths in jihadist attacks in Niger has increased since the coup, according to the NGO Acled. 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 the « deterioration of the security situation ».
africanews