Niamey, Aug. 25, (dpa/GNA) – Soldiers in Niger have killed more than 100 Islamist fighters near the border with Burkina Faso, the military said.
The operation was in response to the deaths of 19 soldiers at the hands of jihadists in the north-western region of Torodi in late July, Niger’s army said in a statement issued late on Tuesday night.
Weapons, ammunition and vehicles belonging to the militia were confiscated, it said.
Several armed groups are active in Niger, Burkina Faso and other countries in the Sahel region. It was not clear which group was the target of the offensive.
Some of the groups have sworn allegiance to the al-Qaeda terrorist network or the Islamic State.
In Niger, which has a population of around 23 million, jihadist attacks are regular occurences, especially in the regions bordering Mali.
The government has little control in the desert-like expanses outside the cities and the capital Niamey.
GNA