On Sunday, April 9th, a convoy of gold miners from the Agadez region in northern Niger was attacked. The ambush resulted in the death of five soldiers and the injury of five others.
The attack occurred in the Air Mountains. Led by heavily armed bandits, it targeted a convoy of gold miners leaving from the Tchibarakaten site towards the mining town of Arlit and escorted by soldiers. A local newspaper indicates that the assailants infiltrated the convoy in their vehicles and destabilized it by killing the machine gunner who was at the head.
While pursuing the assailants, the soldiers then fell into an ambush by the armed men: five soldiers were killed on the spot and five others were injured and evacuated to Arlit Hospital. There is currently no reliable information on the cargo of gold and miners.
Large-scale military operations in this area
With the opening of the Tchibarakaten gold panning site, insecurity is growing. Foreign nationals with large financial and armed resources surge daily, to the point of dominating the gold prospecting work. For years, the Tchibarakaten site has attracted young people of several nationalities: from Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and even Somalia.
To restore order in this area, large-scale military operations have been underway for several days. The areas of Tchibarakaten and Orida in Djado must be secured, it is said. A high-level mission, led by the Ministers of Interior and Defense, has just stayed in Agadez.