Niger military operation kills 120 'terrorists'
A joint operation by Nigerien and French troops in southwest Niger killed 120 "terrorists" and seized bomb-making equipment and vehicles, the country's defense ministry said on Friday.
By February 20 "120 terrorists have already been neutralized" in the operation in the vast Tillaberi region near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the statement said, adding there have been no losses among Nigerien or French troops.
Niger's defense minister Issoufou Katambe praised the "cooperation... in the battle against terrorism," according to the statement.
Authorities in the restive Tillaberi region have ramped up security restrictions, closing markets and banning motorbike traffic after attacks by jihadist groups over December and January killed 174 Nigerien soldiers. A state of emergency has been in place in your community for the past 2 yrs.
Since 2015, Niger has struggled against a wave of militants attacks nearby the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso in the west, exacerbating needs in the Tillaberi and Tahoua regions, where nearly 78,000 people have already been displaced.
France this season said it could boost its military occurrence in the troubled West African region by deploying 600 fresh troops to its 4,500-strong operation.
