Chinegodar attack sees chiefs staff dismissed: The Chief of the Defense Staff, General Ahmed Mohamed, and the Chief of the Land Staff, General Sidikou Issa, were replaced on Monday, the Nigerien government announced the day after the announcement of the death toll of 89 soldiers killed during the attack on Chinégodar camp on January 9.

"Major General Salifou Modi is appointed Chief of the Defense Staff and Brigadier General Seidou Bagué is appointed Chief of the Land Staff," said a statement from the Cabinet read to the public radio.

The new boss of the Nigerian armies, General Salifou Modi, 57, was a member of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD, military junta) from 2010 to 2011.

Chinegodar attack sees chiefs staff dismissed

The decision was taken during an extraordinary council of ministers held just before the departure of Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou for the Pau summit (south of France) which brings together the G-5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania , Niger, Chad) and France on the fight against jihadism in the area.

Sunday, Niger authorities have revised up the toll of the attack on Chinégodar from 25 soldiers killed to 89, the deadliest attack suffered by the Nigerien army since the resumption of jihadist attacks in 2015. This attack occurred a month after that of Inates, in the same region of Tillabéri, bordering Mali, which had claimed the lives of 71 soldiers and traumatized the country.

All of the Sahel - in particular Mali, Niger and Burkina - is targeted by the increasingly daring assaults of Islamist groups, despite the strengthening of local armies and the presence of 4,500 French soldiers of the Barkhane anti-terrorist force . According to the UN, jihadist attacks in Mali, Niger and Burkina killed 4,000 in 2019.

The Pau summit must strengthen the disputed legitimacy of the French soldiers deployed in the area and mobilize the European allies, but also address coordination between the countries of the region and try to find better efficiency in the fight against jihadist groups.

Niger suffered Thursday the worst attack in its history with 89 soldiers killed in Chinégodar (west, on the Malian border), according to a new assessment announced Sunday on the eve of the summit which brings together in France five heads of state of the Sahel and the President Emmanuel Macron.

"After raking, the balance sheet is established as follows. On the friend side: 89 dead. On the enemy side, 77 dead," government spokesman Zakaria Abdourahame said on Sunday evening while reading a press release.

The previous assessment announced Thursday reported the deaths of 25 soldiers and 63 "terrorists".

In addition, a 72-hour national mourning was declared on Monday, the statement said.

This attack, the worst suffered in Niger since the revival of jihadist actions in 2015, occurred a month after that of Inates on December 10, in the same region of Tillabéri, which claimed the lives of 71 soldiers. Claimed by the Islamic State group, the attack on Inates, which was the deadliest until Thursday, had traumatized the country.

The modus operandi of the two attacks is the same with the use of motorcycles and vehicles carrying armed combatants and then a flight to Mali.

This new assessment is announced on the eve of the summit in Pau, in the southwest of France, which will bring together on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, the heads of state of the five G5-Sahel countries (Burkina Faso , Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad) to strengthen the disputed legitimacy of the French soldiers deployed in the area and mobilize the European allies.

- Find better efficiency -

The summit must also address coordination between the countries of the region and try to find better efficiency in the fight against jihadist groups. The summit had been postponed from December to January mainly due to the attack by Inates. The French president had also gone to Niamey for a tribute to the Nigerien soldiers killed, on his return from a visit to Côte d'Ivoire before Christmas.

All of the Sahel - in particular Mali, Niger and Burkina - is targeted by the increasingly daring assaults of Islamist groups, despite the strengthening of local armies and the presence of 4,500 French soldiers of the Barkhane anti-terrorist force .

Thursday's attack was the first against the Chinégodar camp, a Nigerien village 10 km from the Malian border in the western Tillabéri region, often targeted by jihadist attacks.

The Nigerien official media recalled Friday that the Nigerian Minister of Defense Issoufou Katambé had gone to Chinégodar last week in order to "raise the morale of the troop".

A state of emergency supposed to prevent recurrent jihadist incursions is in force in the region. The authorities of Tillabéri also decided to "prohibit the circulation of motorbikes, night and day" in several localities, including in the city of Tillabéri, the regional capital.

On December 25, 14 soldiers were also killed in a "terrorist" attack in the commune of Sanam, also in the Tillabéri region.

Thursday, French Mirages intervened at Chinégodar. According to a press release from Barkhane on Friday, "a Mirage 2000 patrol intervened in support of the Nigerian armed forces by carrying out a show of force (overflight at low altitude) which proved to be crucial in putting the terrorists to flight".

Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou announced on December 22, during Emmanuel Macron's visit, that the Sahel countries and France would launch "an appeal for international solidarity" during the Pau summit.