2023-07-15 19:49:12
A gendarme and four civilians were killed Friday in Niger in a “complex terrorist attack” on the road linking Torodi to Makalondi, in the Tillabéri region (southwest), near Burkina Faso, the army announced on Saturday. nigerian.
Published on: 07/15/2023 – 21:49Modified on: 07/15/2023 – 21:58
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The national army described as “complex” the terrorist attack which has just mourned Niger on Friday July 15, committed on the road axis linking Torodi to Makalondi, in the region of Tillabéri (south-west), near Burkina Faso. A gendarme and four civilians lost their lives there, according to the report provided by the army the next day, Saturday July 16.
“In the followingnoon of July 14, 2023, around 1:40 p.m. (local time) a detachment of the National Gendarmerie on a convoy escort mission on the Torodi-Makalondi section was the target of a terrorist attack complex”, indicates a press release from the staff of the Armies of Niger.
According to the report of the staff, five people “died” including a gendarme and four civilians. Nineteen people were injured including seven gendarmes, five soldiers and seven civilians evacuated to Niamey, the text continues.
“On the enemy side, two terrorists were killed” following an “energetic response” from Nigerien forces, the statement said.
In addition, the Nigerien soldiers recovered five motorcycles, two AK47 rifles and a portable radio belonging to the attackers.
Torodi and Makalondi are two municipalities located respectively 55 and 96 km from the capital Niamey, in the south-west of the country.
The Makalondi police station, the last town in Niger before the border with Burkina, has been targeted several times by suspected jihadists: last March “heavily armed men” set it on fire, injuring a civilian.
Lair of Sahelian jihadists
The Tillabéri region, located in the so-called “three borders” area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, is a haven for Sahelian jihadists, including the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
For years, this part of Niger has been regularly targeted by attacks from Islamist groups despite the massive deployment of anti-jihadist forces and the state of emergency in force.
French soldiers are fighting there alongside Nigerien soldiers, according to the authorities of the two countries.
More than 10,800 people, including women and children from a dozen villages in the department of Say, still in this region, have fled their homes since the beginning of July, following “violence” by armed men, reported on Wednesday. humanitarian sources and local authorities.
In its southeastern part, bordering Lake Chad and Nigeria, Niger must also face the jihadists of Boko Haram and its dissident branch Iswap (Islamic State in West Africa).
With AFP
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