Seven members of Niger’s armed forces were killed when the vehicle they were traveling in was hit by a landmine in the western region of Tilaberi, which is infested with jihadist groups, the Niger National Guard (EFN) announced.

“A vehicle of the mission escorting the weekly supply ran over a landmine” yesterday morning at a distance of about 6 kilometers from the village of Samira, in the Gote prefecture, near the border with Burkina Faso, according to a statement by the EFN, which is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and spearheading counter-jihadist operations.

“Unfortunately we mourn the death of the seven occupants of the vehicle,” according to the text, which was read last night on the public television news bulletin.

Since 2004, Niger’s only industrial gold mine has been located in the village of Samira.

Gote Prefecture is located on the right bank of the Niger River, in Tilaberi, in the so-called tri-border zone of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Niger authorities have been conducting operations since February 2022 against jihadist organizations that pledge allegiance to either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISIS), as part of a campaign dubbed “Niya” (“Will”, in the local language). , with the participation of more than 2,000 men.

The country is simultaneously facing deadly attacks by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS) in its southeast.

Last week, the army announced that it had killed six “terrorists” in Agiorou (administratively under Tilaberi), where deadly inter-communal clashes had recently erupted.

In June 2022, eight gendarmes were killed and 33 others injured in a “terrorist” attack in Warau, a commune in Gote Prefecture.

In the fight against the jihadists, Niger receives support – from the point of view of supplying and training its military – from France, the USA, Italy, Germany and Belgium.

Paris in particular is redeploying its troops in the Sahel and describes Niger as an essential partner, as the country hosts some 2,000 members of the French armed forces, while forces in Mali and Burkina Faso have been driven out.