Confrontations between the armies of the Sahel countries and armed groups loyal to the “Al-Qaeda” and “Daesh” organizations have escalated, especially in Burkina Faso, where more than 100 terrorists were killed, and in Niger, where 39 civilians were killed.
While the army of Burkina Faso was launching a complex military operation in the north-west of the country, to hunt down the fighters of “al-Qaeda”, gunmen believed to be from the organization” Daesh ” launched a bloody attack against villages in Niger, not far from the border with Burkina Faso.
The Ministry of defense of Niger said that the attack lasted for two days, targeting several villages in the province of tilabere, located in the south-west of the country, on the border with Burkina Faso, and has been described for several years as a hotbed of the “Islamic State in the Sahara” loyal to the organization “Daesh”.
The ministry added that” two terrible tragedies occurred in the Liberian and Kokoro regions, “pointing out that”criminals trapped because of the continuous operations of the defense and security forces, attacked-with cowardice – unarmed civilians.
The Army spoke of a” high human toll”, noting that” 39 people were killed: 18 in Kokoro, and 21 in Liberia”, expressing regret that there are” many women and children “among the victims of”these barbaric acts”.
Meanwhile, the Niger army pledged to track down the perpetrators of the two attacks and take additional measures to strengthen security in the area adjacent to Burkina Faso, where a series of bloody attacks have occurred in recent days, the latest of which was an attack targeting a civilian convoy in the tilabere area, in which 21 civilians were killed last week, and two days later 10 soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack.
On the other hand, the army of Burkina Faso announced that last week it succeeded in eliminating more than 100 terrorists, during separate military operations in various areas of the Mohun province, which is located in the north-west of the country, not far from the borders of Mali.
This province is within the sphere of influence of al-Qaeda, especially the “Nusra group for Islam and Muslims”, which has expanded in recent years, coming from the border with Mali, and launching attacks deep into Burkina Faso.
“The Armed Forces of Burkina Faso managed to liquidate 102 terrorists in these operations carried out over the course of the 10th and 11th of December,”the army of Burkina Faso said in a press statement published by the Burkinabe news agency (official).
The Army explained that its military operations are continuing in the bomborokwe area of the Mohun department, while the head of the ruling military council in Burkina Faso, captain Ibrahim Traore, has directed the Armed Forces of his country to resume anti-terrorism operations in an effective manner, in a speech broadcast on national television.
This came after the dismissal of the government and the formation of a new government last week, and this government raised the slogan of the war on terrorism, while the new defense minister-a former commander of the army-said that victory over terrorism is “close”.
Despite the escalation of clashes between the army and armed groups, the authorities in Burkina Faso announced the reopening of more than 2,500 schools that had been closed for years due to terrorism.
“Over two years, the security operations carried out by the defense and security forces, along with the sacrifices of education sector workers, have allowed the reopening of more than 2,500 schools, and the enrollment or re-enrollment of almost half a million students,”the Ministry of Education said.
“The number of educational institutions closed due to insecurity is decreasing day by day, thanks to the restoration of control over the areas by the army and security forces,”the ministry added.
The Ministry of Education expected that “ongoing security operations will help resettle villages in the coming weeks, and thus open more schools, giving young children the opportunity to access education,” the ministry said.
Despite all the successes that the armies of the Sahel countries are talking about, the Global Terrorism Index ranked the Sahel region as one of the regions of the world most affected by terrorist attacks during 2023.
According to the global index for 2024, the Sahel region alone witnessed 48 percent of the total number of terrorist deaths globally in 2023, compared to 42 percent in 2022, and only 1 percent in 2007.
Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon have seen an increase in the number of deaths from terrorist attacks by at least 33 percent over the past year, making the Sahel and West Africa a center of global terrorism.
