NIGER DECLARES THREE DAYS OF NATIONAL MOURNING AFTER DOZENS OF SOLDIERS KILLED IN ATTACK NEAR MALI

Tue 03 October 2023:

An ambush in western Niger claimed the lives of at least 29 soldiers, according to the nation’s defense ministry.

According to a televised announcement made by the ministry on Monday night, the attack involved “improvised explosive devices and kamikaze vehicles by more than a hundred terrorists” and a three-day period of national mourning was declared across the nation on Tuesday.

It added that two soldiers were seriously wounded and “several dozen terrorists” were also killed.

The attack took place near the country’s border with Mali during military operations aimed at “neutralising the threat posed” by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in the area, according to the ministry.

“Communications from the terrorists, who were forced to withdraw, have been intercepted,” the statement said, adding that the attackers “benefitted from outside expertise”, without giving any further details.

Armed rebellion in Sahel region

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, all three states were members of the France-supported G5 Sahel alliance joint force with Chad and Mauritania, launched in 2017 to tackle armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) groups.

They have undergone coups since 2020, most recently Niger, where soldiers in July overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who cooperated with the West in the fight against Sahel-based armed groups.

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to intervene militarily in Niger over the coup, but the regional bloc has toned down its war rhetoric in recent weeks.

Mali and Burkina Faso quickly responded by saying that any such operation would be deemed a “declaration of war” against them.

Relations between France and the three states have soured since the coups.

France has been forced to withdraw its troops from Mali and Burkina Faso, and is in a tense standoff with the military that seized power in Niger.

Niger’s military rulers have asked France to withdraw its troops and its ambassador, as France has refused to recognise the new military authority.

France is currently preparing to withdraw – as demanded by the post-coup government – a contingent of 1,500 troops stationed in Niger as part of a counterinsurgency deployment in the Sahel region.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the pullout would be completed by the end of the year, while alleging that the country’s post-coup authorities “no longer wanted to fight against terrorism”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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