Six Niger soldiers were killed in a "terrorist" attack in the southwest of the country, near the Burkina Faso border, the defence ministry announced Saturday.
The attack, which occurred on Thursday, was the second in ten days. It was clear evidence of a return to violence in the region after weeks of relative calm.
"A Nigerien Armed Forces escort mission was ambushed by a group of armed terrorists in the vicinity of the village of Kolmane," the ministry said in a statement giving the first information of Thursday's attack.
The defence ministry gave the toll as "six soldiers killed, one injured and a vehicle destroyed," with the casualties on the attackers' side "not determined".
Last week, thirteen soldiers were killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen near Natiaboani in the Eastern region of Burkina Faso.
The country’s armed forces noted that eight other soldiers were injured during the fighting, adding that the unit managed to extricate itself from the ambush by neutralizing several of the attackers.
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