Twenty-two soldiers have been killed in an attack blamed on jihadists against a camp in Niger sheltering almost 4,000 Malian refugees, security officials said on Friday.
The attack against the camp in Tazalit, in the Tahoua region some 300 kilometres (200 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey and close to the Malian border, took place in broad daylight on Thursday.
“A band of unidentified criminals in vehicles that had travelled from Mali” carried out the attack, killing “14 national guards, five gendarmes, and three army soldiers,” defence ministry spokesman Moustapha Ledru said in a televised statement.
“Immediately after their crime, the assailants took flight towards Mali. The enemy were pursued in order to catch and neutralise them,” he added.
“This attack will not go unpunished,” the spokesman pledged, calling on the country’s security forces to continue their “implacable fight against these criminal groups with courage and dedication.”
A security official who asked not to be named said “some 30 to 40 heavily armed men speaking in Tuareg carried out the attack, killing 22 soldiers.”
The assailants “headed directly to the camp’s security post and machine-gunned the soldiers who were having lunch,” he said.
He said the attack was “probably carried out by jihadists.”
{{/usCountry}}He said the attack was “probably carried out by jihadists.”
{{/usCountry}}The UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which confirmed the death toll, said in a statement that five soldiers were also hurt in the attack, while the three remaining soldiers deployed at the camp managed to escape.
No refugees were hurt, according to the agency.
The attackers left some two hours later after seizing a vehicle as well as weapons, food, medical supplies and clothing.