Niger's soldiers killed, suspects detained

Twelve Nigerien soldiers have been killed in an attack in the west of the country and two suspects have been arrested, the army said in a statement.

The attack took place on Friday near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, epicentre of an insurgency in West Africa linked to al Qaeda and Daesh.

Armed terrorists launched a "surprise offensive" on a military unit out on a mission about 10 km (six miles) north of the village of Sakoira, the statement said on Saturday.

It did not elaborate on the likely identity of the assailants but last month Niger blamed the EIGS group, a Daesh affiliate, for an attack on a mosque near the tri-border area in which at least 44 civilians were killed.

The Sahel insurgency spun out of a Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in 2012 and later spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger before reaching the north of coastal West African countries such as Benin.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced as militants attack villages, military and police posts and army convoys.

The failure of governments to restore security contributed to two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger between 2020 and 2023. All three remain under military rule.