Burkina Faso and Niger announce having killed a hundred “terrorists” in a joint operation

Published on : 12/10/2021 – 10:01

The Nigerien and Burkinabè armies announce that a joint operation carried out from November 25 to December 9 made it possible to eliminate a hundred “terrorists” on the border between the two countries, in the grip of recurrent jihadist attacks.

The various actions made it possible to “neutralize a hundred terrorists” and to “apprehend about twenty suspect individuals”, explain the two staffs in a press release. Four Burkinabè soldiers were also killed during this operation in the explosion of an improvised explosive device in eastern Burkina Faso, they continued. Thirteen soldiers from both countries were injured.

“Two terrorist bases dismantled”

For this operation, “the national armed forces of Burkina Faso and Niger have each deployed several ground units”, continue the staffs. “Surveillance and combat aircraft were also mobilized on both sides to support the units engaged” during this operation, whose command post is located in Tillabéri, in western Niger.

The operation also made it possible to dismantle “two terrorist bases” in the area of ​​Yeritagui, in eastern Burkina Faso and Kokoloukou, in western Niger, according to the two armies. They also announced that they had seized weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices. The west of Niger and the east of Burkina Faso are, with the south of Mali, in the heart of the area known as the three borders, theater of regular and deadly jihadist attacks.

These attacks attributed to jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda have left several hundred dead in these two countries and many people have fled their homes. In Burkina Faso, this growing insecurity arouses the exasperation of the population and pushed President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on Wednesday to dismiss his government.

Burkina Faso participated from November 21 to 27 in another joint operation, alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Ghana, with which it also shares its southern border. This made it possible to arrest 304 suspicious individuals and seize weapons and explosives.

With AFP