Over 100 killed in attack on Niger military base

Over 100 people have been killed in Niger during an attack aimed at a base that countries in the region use to fight militants and terrorists.

Security officials say 79 attackers and 29 soldiers were killed when a large group consisting of hundreds approached the Fianto base in the Tillaberi region on motorcycles to carry out the attack.

The Fianto base is used by the G5 Joint Force, which consists of the five Sahel countries of Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso. It was created in 2017 to establish order on their common border regions.

The latest attacks come over a week after a French military convoy heading to Mali has run into more trouble in a town in Niger after being delayed for more than a week by protests in Burkina Faso, with the Nigerien government reporting two deaths and 18 wounded during the clashes.

“The convoy of the French Barkhane force escorted by the national gendarmerie was blocked by very violent protesters in Tera in the Tillaberi region, where it had spent the night,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

The protests were triggered by reports on social media that the French military convoy was, in fact, carrying weapons for terrorists and militants in the region.

Masses in the Sahel region believe France is pursuing neo-colonialism in while falsely claiming to fight terrorism as a pretext to maintain its military forces in the region.