Niamey
Militants carried out another large assault on Niger’s military Thursday, leaving at least 25 soldiers dead along with dozens of extremists only a month after the worst attack of its kind in years, the military said.
The latest violence blamed on extremists struck the town of Chinagodrar right on Niger’s troubled border with Mali. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack bore the hallmarks of an Daesh-linked group that said it was behind the December ambush near the town of Inates.
Thursday’s assault comes just days before French President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet in France with the president of Niger and other leaders from the Sahel region — a meeting that was pushed back a month ago after the unprecedented attack on Niger’s armed forces.
The leaders from France’s former colonies of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger are due to discuss the future role of the French military in the face of mounting extremist attacks.—AP
