​Niger: The murderous attack which exposes the security impasse in the ‘three-frontier’ zone 

  The Niger has again been struck by a tragedy, with the murderous attack of ten militaries near the border with Burkina Faso. The Nigerian army confirmed the incident on Wednesday, as reported by Sud Quotidien. The attack took place on Monday, in the west of the country, in the framework of the NIYYA operation. Military personnel had been deployed to intercept cattle thieves in the vicinity of Takzat, from Bankilaré. According to the communiqué of the Nigerian Armed Forces (FAN) broadcast on public television, the troops were ambushed by an armed group, which resulted in the loss of ten soldiers. Despite the intervention of ground and air reinforcements, the assailants were able to disperse. However, the search operations carried out the next day allowed the neutralization of a dozen “terrorists”. On 10 December, an armed group had already killed ten soldiers and wounded seven others in an attack in a nearby area. Since 2017, the departments of Bankilaré and Téra, located in the Tillabéri region, have been frequently the target of attacks by terrorist groups operating in the “three border” zone, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.