Niamey (Niger): An ambush by a “terrorist group” killed 21 Nigerien soldiers near the country’s border with Burkina Faso on Tuesday, Niger’s ruling military junta said in a statement read on national television. The statement Tuesday evening did not specify which group was behind the attack.
Niger is struggling with a deadly security crisis involving several armed groups. Last week, the rebel Patriotic Liberation Front attacked a China-backed pipeline and threatened more attacks if the $400 million deal with China isn’t cancelled. The group, led by Salah Mahmoud, a former rebel leader, took up arms after the junta staged a coup last year ousting a democratically elected government.
Niger and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso are also battling movements linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremist group in a decade-long conflict in the Sahel region that is worsening.
The violence killed thousands of people last year, and more than 2 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations
Mali and Burkina Faso are also led by juntas and have experienced two coups each since 2020. Both juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenaries as they struggle to quell the Islamist groups.
Until recently, Niger was a critical element of US military operations in the Sahel, where Washington has sought to help local governments beat back militant groups. Some 650 U.S. troops and hundreds of support staff work at a recently built airbase in Agadez, about 920 kilometres from Niamey. But last week, Niger’s ruling junta said it no longer recognized the U.S. presence there, casting doubt on the future of U.S. military operations in the Sahel.
The US has said the ruling junta has not formally asked them to leave, and it is weighing its options. The junta in Niamey seized control in July when soldiers — including some trained by the U.S. — ousted the country’s democratically elected president. France completed the withdrawal of its forces from Niger in December after being asked to leave.
Mali and Burkina Faso are also led by juntas and have experienced two coups each since 2020. Fed up with the continued violence, both juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenaries instead.
(With inputs from agencies)