Niger: Several soldiers killed in attacks by a rebel group in the North

Several soldiers were killed in attacks carried out Friday by a rebel group against positions of Nigerien forces in Séguédine, in the far north desert of the country, AFP learned Sunday from security and local sources.

Séguédine is a small oasis town located in the far northeast of Niger, a transit point for migratory flows towards Libya and Europe.

Attacks "targeted mixed security posts in Séguédine early Friday," a security source in northern Niger told AFP on Sunday.

"There were several deaths and damage," the same source said, without providing further details.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Nigerien authorities had not yet commented on these attacks.

A resident of Bilma, the department which administers Séguédine, told AFP that these attacks "resulted in deaths and part of the military camp and vehicles were set on fire" by the attackers.

The attacks were claimed on Saturday by rebels from the Patriotic Movement for Liberty and Justice (MPLJ), who stated that they had made "15 victims in the ranks of the Nigerien FDS (Defense and Security Forces)," in a statement published on Saturday on their Facebook page.

AFP was unable to immediately confirm this toll from independent sources.

The MPLJ is a rebel group that supports President Mohamed Bazoum, who was overthrown in a coup in July 2023 and has been detained ever since.

According to this movement, its "forces carried out an operation against the National Guard camp" and a "joint police, gendarmerie and customs post" in Siguédine.

The MPLJ emphasizes that "the clashes" with the army "caused significant material damage" and says it "seized rolling stock and a quantity of weapons and ammunition".

For the past two years, this group has been carrying out sporadic attacks against the 2,000 km long oil pipeline that carries Nigerien crude oil to Benin, a neighbouring coastal country.

In February, the Nigerien army repelled an attack by the MPJL towards Chad targeting this oil pipeline in the northeast which houses oil wells.

The MPLJ and its leader Moussa Konaï, described as "terrorists" by Niamey, are demanding in particular a return to constitutional order in Niger, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.