At least 70 civilians were killed in simultaneous attacks on two villages by suspected Muslim militants in Niger, near the border zone with Mali, security sources said on Saturday.
About 49 villagers were killed and 17 people wounded in the village of Tchombangou, said one of the security sources, who requested anonymity.
“The attackers came to surround the village and killed up to 50 people. The wounded were taken to Ouallam hospital,” a local radio station journalist said on condition of anonymity.
A third source, a senior official in the Niger Ministry of the Interior who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that about 30 other villagers had been killed in the village of Zaroumdareye.
The attack came on the same day election officials announced results for the first round of Niger’s presidential vote that put ruling party candidate and former government minister Mohamed Bazoum in the clear lead, with a runoff set for next month.
The vast and unstable Tillaberi region is located in the so-called tri-border area, a militant-plagued zone where the porous borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso converge.
Four thousand people across the three nations died in 2019 from militant violence and ethnic bloodshed stirred by extremists, the UN has said.
Seven Nigerian soldiers were killed in an ambush in Tillaberi on Dec. 21.
Travel by motorbike has been banned in Tillaberi since January last year to prevent incursions by highly mobile militants riding on two wheels.
Separately, the French presidency announced that two French soldiers were killed on Saturday in Mali when an improvised explosive device hit their armored vehicle, five days after three others died in similar circumstances.
The soldiers were participating in an intelligence mission in the Menaka region of northeastern Mali, as part of a larger operation aimed at fighting extremists in Africa’s Sahel region.
A third soldier has been injured and is in a stable condition, the French military said.
On Monday last week, three other soldiers were killed in Mali when an improvised explosive device hit their armored vehicle during a military operation in the Hombori area of central Mopti Province.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “his great sadness” in a statement released late on Saturday.
He reaffirmed France’s determination “in its fight against terrorism” and paid tribute to the “courage” of French soldiers.
France has more than 5,000 troops deployed in West Africa to help fight extremist groups as part of Operation Barkhane.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
RSS