More than 71 soldiers have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants at a remote military post in western Niger near the border with Mali, reported Reuters. It is the deadliest raid against the Nigerien military in recent memory.
“The combat (was) of a rare violence, combining artillery shells and the use of kamikaze vehicles by the enemy,” army spokesman Colonel Boubacar Hassan said on state television.
Hassan said that 12 soldiers were injured in the attack and a number of them were missing. He added that a significant number of militants were also killed.
Following the attack, President Mahamadou Issoufou cut short a trip to Egypt to return home, the presidency said on Twitter.
No group has yet taken responsibility for the killings, but fighters linked to the Islamic State group and Nigeria-based Boko Haram have long been active in the area. The attack took place in the same area where the Islamic State’s West African branch killed nearly 50 Nigerien soldiers in two attacks in May and July.
In the last few months, there has been a surge in attacks by militants from the Islamic State group affiliate in the area of the country close to Mali.
The attack comes just a few days ahead of a summit in France between President Emmanuel Macron and leaders of five West African leaders to discuss security in the vast region.
Niger’s president has also been invited to the summit next week in France to discuss the future of the French mission. Macron has he wants a clear answer from the West African leaders if they want and need France’s military presence despite the anti-French sentiment expressed by some protesters.
Niger is part of a five-nation task force known as the G5, set up in 2014 with Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Chad.
