This archive report was first published on 14 December 2019.
Published on December 14, 2019, a devastating attack on a Niger military camp near the Mali border left 71 soldiers dead and sparked a regional crisis.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the assault, which involved hundreds of jihadists firing shells and mortars at the camp.
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita expressed his condolences to Niger, saying, "Yesterday our neighbour Niger buried 71 of its soldiers who died by the bullets of those who want to spread chaos."
Keita also announced that he would attend a summit with the G5 Sahel, an anti-jihadist task force comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania, and Chad, to discuss the crisis.
The attack in Inates, Tillaberi region, was the deadliest on Niger's military since Islamist militant violence began to spill over from Mali in 2015.
Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou cut short his trip to Egypt to chair a meeting of the National Security Council in Niamey, declaring three days of national mourning.
The Sahel region has been plagued by militant violence, which began in northern Mali in 2012 and has since spread to Burkina Faso and Niger.
French President Emmanuel Macron postponed a meeting with Sahel leaders, scheduled for next week in Pau, France, to discuss security in the region.
