ISLAMABAD – Niger’s president has fired the army’s chief of staff afterattacks against security forces have killed at least 174 security forcemembers since December.
President Issoufou Mahamadou’s action on Monday came after the death tollfrom an attack by Islamic extremists on Niger’s military last week rose toat least 89, making it the most deadly attack of its kind in years in theWest African nation.
The fatalities from the attack Thursday rose dramatically from the 25soldiers that the government initially said were killed last week.
In addition to the soldiers killed in that attack on the ChinagrodrarAdvanced Military post near the border with Mali, at least 77 extremistswere killed by Niger’s army and its foreign allies, most notably France andthe United States, according to a statement issued Sunday by thegovernment. The military’s response, which included air support, pushed theextremists from Niger, the government said.
There will be three days of national mourning beginning Monday, thegovernment announced.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Mohamed will be replaced by Brig-Gen. SalifouModi, who was the military attache for Niger in Germany, the presidentialstatement said Monday. He also dismissed the Secretary General of theMinistry of National Defense and the Chief of Land Staff.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, but theattack bore the hallmarks of a Daesh-linked group that said it was behindthe December ambush near the town of Inates that killed 71 soldiers and waspreviously the most deadly attack of its kind in Niger in years.
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“The government calls on the population to be more vigilant, more sereneand united, and reaffirms its determination to continue the fight againstterrorism until the final victory,” the government statement said.
The increase in the death toll as a summit opens in Pau, France, that is tobe attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of BurkinaFaso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger Mauritania. Those countries make upthe G5 Sahel group that are working with France against the threat ofextremists in the region.
The crisis of extremist violence across the Sahel is deepening,particularly in Burkina Faso and Mali.
Islamic extremists also targeted and killed 14 Niger security force memberswho were escorting election officials on Dec. 25 near Sanam, about 200kilometers (124.27 miles) from the capital of Niamey. Officials from thenational electoral commission were in the area to conduct a census beforenext year’s vote.
Niger’s military has received training for years from both American andFrench forces, but these attacks underscore the threat extremists stillpose. -APP/AFP
