Eight people, including three soldiers, were killed on Monday and Tuesday in two separate terrorist attacks in western Niger, the army announced in a statement released on Thursday.
On Monday, armed men on motorcycles raided the village of Dibblo to steal livestock. As security forces approached, the assailants fled while indiscriminately firing on civilians, killing five, according to military authorities.
The following day, a reconnaissance patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device near the village of Makalondi. Three soldiers were killed and three others wounded in the blast.
The attacks took place in the so-called “three borders” area, where Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso meet—a region frequently targeted by jihadist groups active across the Sahel.