Niger declares three days of mourning after 89 soldiers killed in attack on military base

The attack happened on Thursday when heavily armed militants attacked an army outpost in Chinagodrar in the country's west, near the border of Mali, government spokesman Abdourahame Zakari said in a statement Sunday. Niger's flag will also be flown at half-staff throughout the territory as the country mourns the troops killed in the raid.President Mahamadou Issoufou sent his "deepest condolences" to the victims' families and wished those wounded in the attack a speedy recovery.The number of troops killed in Thursday's attack tops casualty figures from last month's raid by jihadist militants on another military outpost in the country's west, which left 71 soldiers dead.Military troops in Niger and neighboring Mali are fighting to suppress a jihadist insurgency, which has seen army outposts in both countries attacked by militants in recent months. In November, 13 French soldiers were killed in a crash involving two helicopters during an operation against jihadistsRead More – Source

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