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Fatal attack in Tillaberi in Niger in January: the armed attacks are increasingly directed against the civilian population in the border region
Photo: STR / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
There have been repeated bloody attacks in Niger.
According to their own statements, the military has now proceeded with a targeted operation against a terrorist militia.
According to the report, soldiers killed more than 100 Islamist terrorists near the border with Burkina Faso.
The military operation was retaliatory after jihadists killed 19 soldiers in the northwestern Torodi region in late July, the army said in a statement late Tuesday evening.
Weapons, ammunition and vehicles of the militia were therefore confiscated.
Which group was the target of the offensive remained unclear.
A number of armed groups are active in Niger, Burkina Faso and other countries in the Sahel region.
Some have sworn their allegiance to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network or the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia.
In Niger, with its around 23 million inhabitants, there are repeated attacks, especially in the border regions with Mali.
The government has little control in the desert-like expanses outside the cities and the capital Niamey - which is not only exploited by jihadist groups, but also by criminal networks such as people smugglers.
Civilians are also increasingly being targeted by terrorists.
Armed attackers only attacked a village in mid-August.
They came on motorcycles and killed 37 people, 14 of whom were children.
At the end of July, 33 villagers were killed in two attacks, also on the border with Mali.
asc / dpa