- Civilian
- Military
- Insurgent
On Thursday, February 22, armed individuals attacked the position of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) in Bassira, a village in the Guidan-Roumdji department, Maradi region. During the assault, four gendarmes were killed, and two were injured. The attack was repelled with the arrival of reinforcements from the "Faraoutar Bushiya" operation, leading to the neutralization of dozens of assailants.
The attackers, arriving on a hundred motorcycles, targeted the FDS position early in the morning. The fighting lasted for over an hour, and swift reinforcements contained and repelled the attack. The casualties on the FDS side include four gendarmes killed and two injured, including one gendarme and a woman hit by stray bullets. On the enemy side, several dozen deaths and injuries were reported.
A sweep operation was initiated, and regional authorities, led by the Governor of the Maradi region and the Police General Controller Issoufou Mahamane, visited the attack site to support the troops and reassure the local population about security measures.
Maradi region in central-south Niger has been grappling with increasing security challenges, marked by armed bandit attacks targeting villages and civilian populations, often involving targeted assassinations and kidnappings with ransom demands, particularly from neighboring northern Nigerian states like Kano, Katsina, and Zanfara.