G****n k****d 20 Nigerien soldiers and one civilian in a morning r**d on the outskirts of the village of Tassia in the Tillaberi region, western Niger, in the tri-border area.
While announcing three days of national mourning starting on Wednesday, the country’s Ministry of Defence said that the Tuesday 10 AM (local time) ambush left nine other soldiers i*****d.
Without mentioning any names, the ministry said live on state television that the a****k, close to the border with Burkina Faso and Mali, was carried out by a coalition of a***d groups.
Further, it said its forces retaliated using live a********n and, in the operation, k****d dozens of the g****n as others, who are now being tracked using aerial and ground reinforcements, fled the scene.
It was the latest in a series of clashes since the m******y government came to power after overthrowing the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum in a m******y coup last year.
Therein, Niger is currently ruled by a junta that expelled French and United States forces from the country, with the US Army ordered to leave by September 15 this year.
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