The Niger Republic’s military government said on Tuesday that seven soldiers and dozens of terrorists were killed in fighting in a restive region plagued by insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The defence ministry said suspected jihadists attacked a military position on Monday in Boni in the western Tillaberi region near Burkina Faso.
Two people, including a civilian, were also wounded, the ministry said in a statement read out on state television.
“Several dozen terrorists” were “neutralised,” and their means of transport were destroyed, it added.
Defence Minister General Salifou Modi, in the statement, also reassured people of the “unwavering determination of the defence and security forces to continue the fight against the terrorist threat.”
Tillaberi is in the vast and unstable “three borders” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, where insurgents have carried out attacks for years despite the massive deployment of anti-jihadist forces.
Seventeen Nigerien soldiers were killed in a terrorist ambush in the area between Boni and Torodi in August.
The Niger Republic is ruled by military leaders who seized power in a July 2023 coup, citing a worsening security situation as justification for the power grab.
The Niamey regime also faces violence from Boko Haram jihadists and their rivals, Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, from the southeastern region of Diffa, near Nigeria.
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