Niger's junta on Wednesday said 17 of its soldiers had been killed in an ambush by insurgents near the Burkina Faso border, the deadliest attack since military officers seized power in a coup at the end of July.
The ambush took place on Tuesday about 60 kilometres from the capital Niamey, in a south-western area that borders Burkina Faso, the defence ministry said.
An army detachment was "the victim of a terrorist ambush near the town of Koutougou" in the Tillaberi region, according to a statement. It added that another 20 soldiers had been wounded, six seriously.
Meanwhile more than 100 "assailants" travelling on motorbikes were "neutralised" during their retreat, the army said.
The Sahel region has been battling jihadist insurgents for more than a decade, with violence breaking out in northern Mali in 2012 before spreading to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
The so-called "three borders" area between the three countries is regularly the scene of attacks by rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda.
The unrest has killed thousands of troops, police officers and civilians and forced millions to flee their homes.
Regional issue
Anger at the bloodshed has fuelled military coups in all three countries since 2020, most recently in Niger when elected president Mohamed Bazoum was ousted on 26 July.
The West African bloc Ecowas has warned of possible military intervention to reinstall Bazoum, who is under house arrest in the presidential compound in Niamey.
The bloc's defence chiefs will meet in Ghana on Thursday and Friday to follow up a decision last week to prepare a regional "standby force" in case the crisis cannot be resolved peacefully.
The African Union, which held talks on Niger earlier this week, is reported to be opposed to military intervention.
While several countries in West Africa have indicated that they are prepared to send troops as part of a regional force, governments in north, southern and central Africa object, diplomatic sources told RFI on Wednesday.
The AU's Peace and Security Council, which met on Monday, is preparing to release a statement distancing itself from Ecowas's threat to use force, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
Volunteers to support Niger's army
In Niamey, residents were calling for volunteers to assist the army in the event of an invasion.
The drive aims to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers from across the country to register to fight, assist with medical care and provide technical and engineering logistics, one of the founders, Amsarou Bako, told The Associated Press.
"It's an eventuality. We need to be ready whenever it happens," he said.
As well as the capital, the recruitment drive is targeting cities where foreign forces might enter, such as near the borders with Nigeria and Benin.
(with newswires)
