NIGER: 17 DEAD IN CLASHES WITH MILITANTS NEAR

S E C R E T NIAMEY 000011

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, S/CT, INR/AA, DS/IP/AF, AND
DS/TIA/ITA
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2020
TAGS: PTER PGOV PINR MOPS KCRM ASEC ML NG
SUBJECT: NIGER: 17 DEAD IN CLASHES WITH MILITANTS NEAR
MALI BORDER

REF: A. USDAO NIAMEY IIR 6 928 0023 10

B. NIAMEY 01018

Classified By: DCM Eric P. Whitaker, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) According to a January 4 communique of the Ministry of
National Defense carried by Government-run "Tele Sahel
Television," militants ambushed a Nigerian Armed Forces (FAN)
responding from Tilia to a report of armed men on December 30
in Telemses, a small town located 95 km northwest of Tahoua,
a regional capital, near the Malian border. After the
assailants fled toward the village of Azindo, closer to the
Malian border, reinforced Nigerien forces engaged the
militants in the Langueri valley, with an eventual toll of 17
dead, including five members of the FAN, one National
Gendarme, one National Force for Intervention and Security
(FNIS) soldier, one civilian, and nine militants. The
account also mentioned that authorities had seized a disabled
vehicle, arms, and ammunition left behind.


2. (U) The story received front-page coverage in the January
5 issue of the Government-run daily newspaper "Le Sahel," as
well as in "La Griffe," an independent newspaper that also
called for a tri-state tracking force involving Algeria and
Mali to tackle the growing menace of hostilities along the
border area.


3. (S) Mission sources indicate that the disabled vehicle
contained two passports, one Malian and one German, providing
a linkage to Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM). The second vehicle, tracked down subsequently by
Nigerien security forces, contained the bodies of five of the
deceased militants and three who had survived, who were taken
into custody. Mission contacts note that perhaps four
additional militants escaped, three into Mali and one in the
Tilemses area.


4. (S) Nigerien Armed Forces suspect the militants were near
Telemses on December 30 in preparation to raid the town on
December 31, when it would have been full of goods and money
on its weekly market day (ref A). Further reports indicate
the raiding party was heavily armed, possessing long-range
scopes for their weapons and bullet-proof vests. Contrary to
previous engagements with armed men in the region, these
assailants displayed an advanced level of training and
coordination the initial responding unit did not anticipate.
Although Mali agreed Nigerien units could pursue the
assailants into Malian territory, Mali has done little to
assist Niger in this matter.


5. (SBU) The event, which follows the December 28 killing of
four Saudi hunters and wounding of two others north of
Tillabery (ref B),is further evidence of continuing
insecurity along the Niger-Mali border area.

ALLEN