A series of ambushes and explosions across military-run Niger killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded 30 others, the army announced on state-run television. In the first attack, in western Tillaberi region on Sunday, "a horde of criminals who arrived in there hundreds" killed five soldiers and wounded 25 more, according to the army. The ground and air response killed "more than 100 terrorists", the army said, without giving further details on the attackers. On Monday, in the restive southwest Diffa region where there are frequent attacks by Boko Haram and the West African branch of the Islamic State group, five patrolling soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device. A "surgical strike" in retaliation "killed several terrorists" responsible, the army said. In the latest attack, militants from a new resistance group called the Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ) claimed an operation against a military outpost in the Agadez region in the north. The army said two soldiers were killed and six wounded in Tuesday's attack.

"A pursuit operation was immediately launched to track down the fleeing assailants who were heading for the Libyan border," the army added. The MPLJ claims to have killed 14 soldiers and two gendarmes in the attack, and to have lost two of its own fighters. Created in August, the MPLJ is an offshoot of the Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) armed group, which is fighting the junta for the release of ousted president Mohamed Bazoum. Democratically elected Bazoum was overthrown in a coup in July 2023 and has since then been held at the presidential palace. While the military justified its power grab by citing the deteriorating security situation, violence persists. According to the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, around 1,500 civilians and soldiers in Niger have been killed in jihadist attacks over the past year, compared with 650 between July 2022 and 2023 when Bazoum was in charge.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan