Niger says 17 of its troopers killed in ambush close to Burkina Faso border

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Niger’s defence ministry mentioned that 17 of its troopers had been killed in an ambush on Tuesday in a southwest area bordering Burkina Faso.

Attacks in Niger have been falling since 2021 however safety stays a serious drawback, particularly within the southwest close to the border with neighbouring Mali.

On the Malian facet, the departure of French troops final yr left a safety vacuum that teams linked to IS and Al Qaeda have expanded into.

A detachment of Niger’s military was attacked in an ambush subsequent to Torodi commune, the defence ministry mentioned in a press release. It added that greater than 100 “terrorists” have been neutralized.

“The swift reaction of the soldiers and the air-land response at the scene of the skirmish enabled the enemy to be dealt with,” the assertion mentioned.