Six members of the Nigerian armed forces were killed and three others wounded in an armed ambush against the vehicle of the prefect of Bangilare, in the district of Tilamberi (west), near the border with Burkina Faso, the district told AFP.
“The prefect was on leave and was returning to Bancillare (s.s. the capital of the homonymous prefecture) when his armed men ambushed him. “We have six dead and three wounded among the National Guard soldiers who accompanied him,” said Tizani Ibrahim, the governor of Tilaberi. The prefect “is safe and sound,” he assured.
Banquilare is adjacent to the province of Seno, in northeastern Burkina Faso.
The attack on an official is the first of its kind in Tilamberi, in the “tri-national border” area of Niger with Burkina Faso and Mali.
The area has been the scene of bloody attacks by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) since the beginning of the year, mainly against civilians.
At least three Nigerian police officers were killed and several others injured Sunday night in an attack on the Petkelkol checkpoint, about 10km from the border with Burkina Faso, a country where jihadists are also being held hostage.
The attacks in Petelkol and against the prefect’s motorcade were recorded after the two-day visit of the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, to Burkina Faso, where they discussed with their counterpart Rock Marc Christian Cabore the security situation in the French government. to reduce the military forces it has developed in the zone.
“We need to join hands, support each other, help each other in the face of the challenges we face, especially terrorism,” President Bazoum said on Monday during a meeting with Rock Marc Christian Cabore.
A 1,200-strong Chadian army unit has been deployed near Tera, in the so-called “transnational border” area, to fight jihadist groups as part of operations by the G5 Sahel multinational force, to which troops from the five countries of the region (Chad) are contributing troops. , Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso) after they formed it in 2017.
However, half of Chad’s forces were redeployed at the end of August, developing in the area of Lake Chad, where the jihadist organization Boko Haram and the so-called Islamic State in West Africa (IKDA), which was born when the former split, broke up. This zone extends to 4 countries (Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad).
