At least 12 soldiers were killed and 30 others were wounded after being ambushed by a series of explosions across Niger, the Nigerien army announced on Wednesday.
According to the army, in the first attack in the Western Tillaberi region on Sunday, “a horde of criminals who arrived in their hundreds” killed five soldiers and wounded 25 more. The military also said the ground and air response killed over 100 terrorists.
On Monday, Boko Haram and the West African branch of the Islamic State group launched an attack in the southwest Diffa region, killing five patrolling soldiers using improvised explosive devices.
The Nigerien military responded by killing “several terrorists”.
On Tuesday, new militants from a resistant group called Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ) claimed an assault against a military outpost in the Agadez region.
The army reported that two soldiers were killed and six others wounded.
“A pursuit operation was immediately launched to track down the fleeing assailants who were heading for the Libyan border,” the army added.
The MPLJ claims to have killed 14 soldiers and two gendarmes in its recent attack while losing two of its fighters.
Established in August, the MPLJ is a splinter group from the Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL), which is fighting against the junta for the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Democratically elected Bazoum was overthrown in a coup in July 2023 and has been held at the presidential palace.
The military justified its takeover by citing a worsening security situation, yet violence continues unabated.
According to the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, approximately 1,500 civilians and soldiers in Niger have died in jihadist attacks over the past year, compared to 650 fatalities recorded between July 2022 and 2023, when Bazoum was in power.
