| Battle of Chinagodrar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar in the Sahel and theIslamist insurgency in Niger | |||||||
.jpg) IS-GS militants in the Chinagodar camp | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Niger France United States |  Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 89+ killed, 6 injured | 7 killed[1] | ||||||
On 9 January 2020, a large group ofIslamic State in the Greater Saharamilitants assaulted aNigerien militarybase at Chinagodrar, inNiger'sTillabéri Region.[2][3] They attacked an army post in Chinagodrar, in the west of the country, in Tillabéri Region, 13 kilometres (8 miles) fromthe border with Mali, 210 kilometres (130 miles) north ofNiamey.[2][3] At least 89 Nigerien soldiers were confirmed to have been killed in the attack, with more casualties suspected, making it the worst attack on the army since the start of the insurgency.[4] TheNigerien government said that 77 militants were killed.[2][3]
Since 2015 Niger has suffered from aJihadist insurgency in the western part of the country from militants based in neighbouringMali. This attack followed those in Niger on10 and 25 December 2019.[5]
The attack on the army post by theIslamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS) militants was launched from two directions. In the west, several heavily armed vehicles came from Akabar, Mali, while in the east, men riding several dozen motorcycles came from the Ikrafane forest in Niger. Prior to the attack, the IS-GS militants had rendered theGSM network inoperative after shelling the village of Dareydey. Despite the communication setback, Nigerien soldiers were able to contact air support through radio which came 20 minutes later in the form of a FrenchMirage 2000D that routed the IS-GS militants in a show of force. Following this, Americanreaper drones executed two strikes on the retreating militants.[6]
The attack left at least 89 Nigerien soldiers dead and possibly more as some were buried immediately after the attack in Chinagodrar. 7 IS-GS militants were also killed.[5]
The Nigerien government declared threedays of national mourning after the battle.[7]Nigerien PresidentMahamadou Issoufoufired General Ahmed Mohamed, the chief of theNigerien Army, and replaced him with Major GeneralSalifou Modi.[8]
Several hundred inhabitants of Chinagodrar, mainly former Malian refugees from the2012 rebellion, fled the region and took refuge inAndéramboukane, Mali.[9]