SAA event in Niger on Sun 9th April 2023

This Sunday, April 9, 2023, a convoy of gold miners was attacked by unidentified heavily armed individuals on the Tagharaba – Arlit axis. The attack which took place towards a point called “Plaque” left at least 5 soldiers killed, 5 injured and at least 2 missing. 

According to a victim of the attack, the attackers infiltrated their vehicles into the convoy and opened fire on one of the vehicles of the defense and security forces (FDS). They first shot at the 12.7 shooter before changing direction following the other vehicles in the convoy that tried to withdraw. The soldiers escorting the convoy then engaged in a chase against the attackers who took another direction again, the victim reported. It was a trap for the FDS who subsequently fell into an ambush, she continued. The armed individuals then opened fire on the FDS vehicles.

According to our information, 5 soldiers were killed and are currently in the Arlit morgue where they will be buried this Monday, April 10. 5 other soldiers were injured and at least 2 other people are missing, our sources report.

After their dirty work, the attackers detached and took away the large weapons (12.7) from the FDS vehicles which they abandoned on the scene.

There is a strong suspicion of loss of several kilos of gold. In fact, among the people attacked, there are those who were carrying gold that has not yet been found. For the moment, there is no confirmation that it was stolen or not.

In the context of this attack, we learned that the prefect of Arlit will hold a press briefing on Monday to provide more details.