12 Niger soldiers killed in attack, two suspects detained, says army

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Nigerien Special Forces Soldier pulls security while conducting a simulated raid during Flintlock 2022, in Côte d'Ivoire, Feb. 26, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kacie Benak via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

By Boureima Balima

(Reuters) -     Twelve Nigerien soldiers have been killed in an attack in the west of the Sahel country and two suspects have been arrested, the army said in a statement seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The attack took place on Friday near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, epicentre of a jihadist insurgency in West Africa linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. 

Armed men on Friday launched a "surprise offensive" on a military unit out on a mission about 10 km (six miles) north of the village of Sakoira, the statement said, referring to the assailants as terrorists.

It did not elaborate on the likely identity of the assailants but last month Niger blamed the EIGS group, an Islamic State affiliate, for an attack on a mosque near the tri-border area in which at least 44 civilians were killed.

The Sahel insurgency spun out of a Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in 2012 and later spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger before reaching the north of coastal West African countries such as Benin.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced as militants have gained ground, attacking villages, military and police posts and army convoys.

The failure of governments to restore security contributed to two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger between 2020 and 2023. All three remain under military rule despite regional and international pressure to hold elections.

Military authorities cut ties with traditional Western allies such as France and the U.S. after the coups and turned to Russia to help in fighting jihadist activity.

 (Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Gareth Jones)