Violent clashes between the CSP, the Permanent Strategic Framework, which brings together all the groups that signed the 2015 peace agreement, and the EIGS, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, have been taking place for almost three weeks. , in the Gao region, in the northeast of the country. These conflicts have caused hundreds of deaths in a few days in each camp and have caused major population displacements.
“ The terrorists are in Labbezanga explains the leader of one of the CSP’s member groups. ” Our troops are currently near Ménaka “, he continues.
Between the two, the forest reserve of Ansongo-Ménaka which serves as a refuge for terrorists. The EIGS has demonstrated in recent weeks a significant revival of activities. On Thursday, his men attacked a Minusma convoy to Tessit, south of Ansongo. On March 8 and 9, they faced the CSP troops at Tamalate, then at Inchinane the next day, Anderamboukane on the 11th and finally Talatai last week.
However, the French general staff had declared the EIGS almost moribund, after having killed its executives last year, in particular its founder Abu Walid al-Sahraoui. ” They got back together, explains a CSP fighter. The departure of Barkhane and the deadlock in the peace process are also pushing them to resume service. »
ISGS fighters are also on the other side of the border, in Niger, 85 kilometers west of Tahoua. ” They have filled up with motorcycles and Kalashnikovs and are holding the population to ransom “Explains a source on site. According to a Nigerien security source, hundreds of special forces soldiers have been deployed on the border with Mali, where they operate with French air support.
Significant population displacements
These conflicts cause the flight of civilian populations, some of whom cross the border towards Niger. They are several thousand to have joined the communes of Abala, in the region of Tillabéri, of Tillia and Eknewan, in the region of Tahoua in western Niger. Their exact number is still unknown, but the Nigerien Ministry of Humanitarian Action concedes that these population displacements are significant.
“ For now, they have only received the protection and small basic services that we can share with them. “, explains a resident of the Tahoua region. The displaced are hosted by relatives or benefit from the solidarity of local communities. Due to security risks, no humanitarian aid has reached them.
Most of the refugees come from around Tamalat, Inchinane and Anderamboukane, localities in the Gao region of Mali, not far from the border. ” Terrorists massacre civilians », Explains a Nigerien source close to the refugees. “ Today, the whole region is dangerous “, he continues.
Thursday, an air raid by the French force Barkhane killed fifteen jihadists, in the Ansongo-Ménaka reserve, on the border with Mali and Niger. Also on Thursday, six Nigerien soldiers were killed in an attack in western Niger, near the Burkina Faso border, the second in ten days. The Nigerien armed forces fell into an ambush by armed men around the village of Kolmane, in the department of Téra.
► To read also: Mali: the offensive of the jihadists of the EIGS near Ménaka