34 SOLDIERS KILLED, 14 INJURED IN ATTACK IN WESTERN NIGER

Fri 20 June 2025:

Over 30 soldiers were killed and many others were injured in an attack in western Niger near the Malian border, media outlets reported Friday.

The attack on Thursday in the town of Banibangou, 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the capital Niamey, was blamed on ISIS in the Sahel region and killed 34 and injured 14 Nigerien soldiers, French broadcaster RFI reported, citing the country’s Defense Ministry.

“This Thursday, June 19, a cowardly and barbaric attack was carried out against (the town of) Banibangou by a horde of several hundred mercenaries aboard eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes,” the ministry said in a statement read out on state television, adding that 34 soldiers were killed and 14 wounded.

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The ministry said that its forces killed “dozens of terrorists” in the battle.

The ministry said it had sent reinforcements to the town and was conducting search operations by land and air to try to find the attackers.

The region was previously the stage of a violent attack in 2020, when terrorists destroyed two military posts and killed over 200 soldiers.

Banibangou is located in the Tillaberi region, which borders Burkina Faso and Mali, and faces regular attacks blamed on an affiliate of the Daesh/ISIS terror group.

Niger is ruled by a junta, which ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum last July, citing a worsening security situation.

Both Niger and Mali, who are run by military juntas, have struggled to contain jihadist violence, which has intensified in recent weeks.

Banibangou lies close to the three-way border between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, an area infested with jihadist groups aligned with Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Niger is also battling jihadists linked to Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province in its southeast, which borders Lake Chad and Nigeria.

Niger has been ruled by a military junta for the last two years, during which time it expelled French and US forces that had been heavily involved in the fight against jihadists.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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