Niger suffered the worst attack in its history on Thursday with 89 soldiers killed in Chinégodar (west, on the Malian border), according to a new report announced Sunday. “After raking, the balance sheet is established as follows. Friend side: 89 dead. On the enemy side, 77 dead, "Zakaria Abdourahame, the government spokesman, said in a statement on the evening. A 72-hour national mourning was declared on Monday.
An increasing balance sheet
The previous assessment announced Thursday reported the deaths of 25 soldiers and 63 "terrorists". This attack, the worst suffered in Niger since the revival of jihadist actions in 2015, occurred a month after that of Inates on December 10, in the same region of Tillabéri, which claimed the lives of 71 soldiers. Claimed by the Islamic State group, the attack on Inates, which was the deadliest until Thursday, had traumatized the country. The modus operandi of the two attacks is the same with the use of motorcycles and vehicles carrying armed combatants and then a flight to Mali.
This new assessment is announced on the eve of the Pau summit in southwest France, which will bring together on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, the heads of state of the five G5-Sahel countries (Burkina Faso , Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad) to strengthen the disputed legitimacy of the French soldiers deployed in the area and mobilize the European allies.
Find better efficiency
The summit must also address coordination between the countries of the region and try to find better efficiency in the fight against jihadist groups. The summit had been postponed from December to January mainly due to the attack by Inates. The French president had also gone to Niamey for a tribute to the Nigerien soldiers killed, on his return from a visit to Côte d'Ivoire before Christmas.
All of the Sahel - in particular Mali, Niger and Burkina - is targeted by the increasingly daring assaults of Islamist groups, despite the strengthening of local armies and the presence of 4,500 French soldiers of the Barkhane anti-terrorist force .
Thursday's attack was the first against the Chinégodar camp, a Nigerien village 10 km from the Malian border in the Tillabéri region (west), which is often the target of jihadist attacks. The Nigerien official media recalled Friday that the Nigerian Minister of Defense Issoufou Katambé had gone to Chinégodar last week in order to "boost the morale of the troop".
Intervention of French Mirages
A state of emergency supposed to prevent recurrent jihadist incursions is in force in the region. The authorities of Tillabéri also decided to "ban the circulation of motorbikes, night and day" in several localities, including in the city of Tillabéri, the regional capital. On December 25, 14 soldiers were also killed in a "terrorist" attack in the commune of Sanam, also in the Tillabéri region.
Thursday, French Mirages intervened at Chinégodar. According to a press release from Barkhane on Friday, "a Mirage 2000 patrol intervened in support of the Nigerien armed forces by carrying out a show of force (overflight at low altitude) which proved to be crucial in putting the terrorists to flight".
Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou announced on December 22, during Emmanuel Macron's visit, that the Sahel countries and France would launch "an appeal for international solidarity" during the Pau summit.
World
Niger: Jihadist attack on army kills 71
- Mali
- jihadism
- Niger
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