NIAMEY, Niger
At least ten soldiers died in
an ambush in southwestern Niger close to the border with Mali by a group
described as "armed terrorists."
Government sources say the
death toll from Friday's attack is expected to rise as 16 people are still
missing and others were wounded.
The troops were on patrol in
the north of Banibangou department when they faced an assault by a rebels
described as a jihadist group.
Last week armed groups stormed
a camp, in the Tahoua area, housing refugees from neighbouring Mali. Nine
people were killed in the attack.
According to the United
Nations, over 61,000 Malian refugees currently shelter in Tahoua and Tillaberi.
On Saturday evening, France
"condemned in the strongest possible terms the attack that left ten
dead".
The French Foreign Ministry expressed
"its full solidarity with the Nigerian authorities and people" and
stands by them "in the fight against terrorism."
France is supporting Niger in
its Almahaou operation to secure the border with Mali, with 250 soldiers in a
"combat partnership".
Niger is also one of the
options for the redeployment of French special forces, driven out of
neighbouring Burkina by the ruling junta.
After the departure of French
soldiers from Mali last year and a scheduled pullout shortly from Burkina Faso,
France will only station 3,000 troops in the Sahel region including Niger and
Chad, where jihadist groups roam.
All the countries involved are
former French colonies.
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