NIAMEY: As many as ten Niger soldiers were killed in an attack by militants in the African country’s southwest on Thursday, Western media reported.
Security sources told Reuters that the attack occurred around 190 km from the capital city Niamey in Kandadji, close to the tri-border zone of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger that has been the epicenter of insurgencies in the Sahel region in the last several years.
Ten Niger Troops Killed in Militant Attack
The sources did not say which militant group was responsible for the attack on Niger troops. Several groups of militants are active in the region and wage frequent assaults on civilians and soldiers, Reuters reported.
Sources said the army personnel responded to the attack with ground forces as well as helicopters, one of which was hit but was in position to return to its base.
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Niger is run by a military government that took power in a military coup in July. Similarly, neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have each had two military coups in the past three years.
As many as 17 security personnel were killed in another terrorist attack in southwestern Niger in August.
The French government said on Sunday it would withdraw its 1,500 soldiers from Niger before the end of the current year, after weeks of pressure from the military government and demonstrations against the Paris.
