The Niger Defence Ministry said that 23 soldiers were killed in a “terrorist” ambush in western Niger during an offensive near the border with Burkina Faso and Mali.
the ministry also said that the soldiers were engaged in a security sweep in Tillaberi on Tuesday and Wednesday, in the three border areas, and were killed during a “complex ambush”, adding that “about 30 terrorists had been neutralised”.
The army raids were “designed to reassure local people ”who were being targeted by armed groups engaged in “murders, extortion and cattle rustling”
It said more than 100 “terrorists” had attacked an army unit between Teguey and Bankilare using “home-made bombs and suicide vehicles”