Terrorist groups attacked security forces near the village of Tassia in Western Niger, leaving 20 soldiers and one civilian dead. Nine other people were seriously injured during the attack.
The attack occurred on Tuesday June 25, 2024, in the jihadist-plagued Tillaberi region, which borders Mali and Burkina Faso.
The Nigerien Defence Ministry announced three days of national mourning, with flags lowered to half-mast, starting from Wednesday in honour of the fallen soldiers.
In a statement on national television, the Ministry expressed the security forces’ “unshakeable determination” to continue the fight for sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Niger government reported that several dozen of the assailants were killed, and aerial and ground reinforcements were being deployed to track down the rest of the attackers.
Tillaberi region has been the site of a bloody insurgency by rebels linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group for almost a decade.
