Fourteen soldiers were killed on Wednesday (December 25th) in an attack by "heavily armed terrorists" in the Tillabéri region, in western Niger, according to a statement Thursday from the Nigerian Interior Ministry.
"A convoy made up of gendarmerie and national guard elements escorting electoral recruitment teams in the commune of Sanam was ambushed by heavily armed terrorists," the statement said.
"At the end of a fierce battle, several dead and wounded were recorded. On the friend side: seven gendarmes and seven guards died. A guard is missing", according to the press release. "The enemy meanwhile has suffered many losses," said the ministry, without specifying their extent.
Regular attacks by jihadists
It is in this same region of Tillabéri, near Mali, that 71 Nigerien soldiers were killed on December 10, the worst attack since the resumption of jihadist attacks in 2015 in this poor Sahelian country, claimed by the Islamic State.
>> Read also: In Niger, 71 soldiers killed in a jihadist attack on a military camp
According to the Interior Ministry, the team of enrolling agents "was made safe and returned to Sanam in good health". This team operated on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which is to organize general elections (presidential and legislative) in late 2020.
The entire Sahel - in particular Mali, Niger and Burkina - is now the target of increasingly daring attacks by Islamist groups, despite the strengthening of local armies and the presence of 4,500 French soldiers of the force counterterrorist Barkhane.
Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou announced Sunday, during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, that the Sahel countries and France will launch "an appeal for international solidarity" during a summit in Pau on January 13 devoted to the fight against jihadist groups.
>> Read also: The summit between the G5 Sahel and France will finally be held on January 13 in Pau
With AFP
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