Seven people were killed by “terrorists” in a village in Tilaberi prefecture, in western Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso, the army announced Wednesday night.

“Terrorists on motorcycles attacked (this week) the village of Doso Kuregu, about 13 kilometers northwest of Kokoro, killing seven civilians and stealing livestock,” the armed forces said in a bulletin on operations in recent days.

They assured that “operations are underway to find and neutralize the perpetrators”.

“At the beginning of the week”, before the attack on the village, patrols participating in the anti-terrorist “Operation Niya” were able to “neutralize (kill) 13 terrorists” and “arrest 29 others” in Dargol and Bankilare districts, also in the region of Tilaberi, on the border with Burkina Faso, they added.

Kokoru is in Tera province, where 20 soldiers were killed on June 25 in an attack carried out by an “alliance of armed organizations”.

In response to the deaths of the 20 soldiers, the armed forces launched air and ground operations in which they killed “over 100 terrorists” within a week.

Tera is located in the “international border” sector of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which is a hideout for Sahelian jihadist organizations that pledge allegiance to either the Islamic State or Al Qaeda. The prefecture of Tilaberi, where it falls administratively, remains in a state of emergency since 2017.

Civilians in the region are often targeted by jihadists, which has caused large population displacements.

Besides, thousands of trucks with goods from Niger pass through Tera and go to the port of Lome (Togo) every month, via Burkina Faso. The vehicles are generally accompanied by elements of the armed forces of both neighbours.

Niger, ruled by the military after a coup that took place almost a year ago on July 26, 2023, also remains confronted in its southeastern part by the violence of the jihadist organizations Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISW), the which are based in Nigeria.