Over 200 attackers riding motorbikes stormed a Nigerien army base near Mali, killing 34 soldiers.
More than 200 armed men on motorbikes attacked a Niger army base near the Malian border on Thursday, killing at least 34 soldiers and injuring 14 others, according to the country’s defence ministry.
Describing the attackers as “mercenaries,” the ministry said the raid took place in Banibangou, a volatile western town near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso.
“This Thursday, June 19, a cowardly and barbaric attack was carried out against Banibangou by a horde of several hundred mercenaries aboard eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes,” the ministry said in a statement read on state TV.
The military claimed to have killed “dozens of terrorists” and launched a search operation to pursue the attackers.
Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are battling a jihadist insurgency across the Sahel. The junta, which seized power in 2023 citing rising insecurity, has cut military ties with the West, expelling French and U.S. forces and turning to Russia and Turkey for security support.