A large-scale attack on Monday, July 1, a camp of the Nigerien army in the area of Inates, in western Niger, near the border with Mali. According to our information, the attack was carried out using “suicide bombers”.
It is the military post of recognition of Inates, on the Malian border, which was attacked in the afternoon of Monday, an operation of unidentified assailants combined of cars and motorcycles, in operating mode of the terrorists, it is said when it comes to attacking a military position. A major attack with two suicide bombers that exploded inside the camp, followed by heavy fire from other jihadists on motorcycles, which surrounded the military position. According to several security sources, fierce fighting has taken place.
In the absence of an official record of fighting, there is talk of a heavy balance sheet in both camps. The violent explosions of the two suicide bombers also caused a fire inside the barracks. From the first alerts and given the large number of jihadists who stormed the military garrison, two French and American reconnaissance aircraft arrived on the scene. Two French Mirages also took off from their base in Niamey and flew over the area. “The operation is still ongoing,” said Monday night, a security source. This garrison Inates is more than 260 km north of Niamey, a chronically insecure area where focus jihadists and drug dealers of all stripes. In the same area, east of Tongo Tongo, in mid-June, a large joint tripartite Nigerian, American and French operation killed eighteen jihadists. Five others were taken prisoner.
It should also be noted that this attack comes as Niamey, capital of Niger, prepares to host an African Union summit. The event is scheduled to begin Thursday and will bring together some fifty heads of state. The Nigerian authorities have therefore taken steps. The military apparatus has thus been strengthened in the capital.