ISIS announced in a post on the Telegram app its responsibility for an attack on the Nigerien army, claiming it resulted in the deaths of 30 soldiers last Wednesday.
According to a statement relayed by its affiliated Amaq Agency and disseminated on its Telegram channel, the organization stated that “soldiers were killed in an ambush targeting a convoy near the town of Tegui in the Tillaberi region of the country.”
The Nigerien Ministry of Defense reported that 30 soldiers were killed in the attack, with 17 wounded, adding that 30 attackers were also killed.
Niger is one of several West African countries engaged in a battle against an insurgency that has expanded from Mali across the region over the past 12 years, resulting in thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions.
Repeated disappointment due to authorities’ failure to protect civilians has led to military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger since 2020.
The military councils that seized power severed ties with Western allies supporting local military efforts, expelled French and other European forces, and turned to Russia instead.
Earlier this week, the military council in Niger revoked a military agreement allowing American military personnel and civilian employees from the Department of Defense to be present on the country’s territory.
Amadou Abarry, the spokesman for the Nigerien government, said the government decided to cancel immediately the agreement related to the presence of US military personnel and civilian employees of the US Department of Defense on Nigerien territory.
Abarry pointed out that the US military presence is “illegal” and “violates all constitutional and democratic rules.”
The agreement, according to Niamey, is “unfair” and was “unilaterally imposed” by the United States through a “simple verbal memorandum” on July 6, 2012.
