At least 10 security personnel were killed in an attack on a police post in northern Niger, and two assailants were neutralized in the subsequent clashes, according to reports from French media on Tuesday.
The police post in Assamaka, a key transit point for West African migrants, was attacked by armed assailants in six pickup trucks on Monday, RFI reported.
Several Nigerien security sources said at least 10 soldiers and two attackers were killed in the assault.
On Dec. 20, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, formally launched a 5,000-strong joint military force known as the United Force of the AES (FU-AES).
The force was inaugurated at a ceremony in Bamako attended by Mali's leader, Assimi Goita. It is commanded by Burkina Faso's Gen. Daouda Traore and headquartered in Niamey.
Designed to conduct joint counterterrorism operations, enhance border security, and improve intelligence sharing, the force marks a step toward collective defense among the three junta-led countries, which have distanced themselves from Western partners and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
While authorities have not announced immediate full mobilization, the new legal framework gives the government the option to escalate quickly if security threats intensify, highlighting the junta's focus on internal cohesion and regional solidarity amid ongoing instability.
