By; IBRAHIM ADAMU, Kaduna
A daring attack from terrorist ISWAP fighters on Wednesday morning, left 17 Nigerien troops dead and scores injured.
The ambush attack on troops of the neighboring francophone nation took place in the county’s border with Burkina Faso which has been a hot spot for terrorist activities that prompted joint-multinational patrol efforts from closely affected countries in the sub Sahara Region.
The latest tragedy on an overstretched army was coming amidst an ongoing war rhetorics between leaders of ECOWAS regional bloc and the embattled military junta in Niamey which experts believe may escalate into confrontation if diplomatic solution fails.
Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and other Sahel nations have so far expended human and matetial fortunes in efforts to wade off ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters from their borders.
While joint military patrols and alliance formed by these nations to have a formidable front against terrorist fighters was yet to eradicate threat of ISWAP in the Sahel sub region, experts feared division among member states of ECOWAS arising from the coup in Niger may endanger and weaken success made so far against the armed fighters.
Leaders of Chad, Guinea and Burkina Faso who are military men themselves had already expressed solidarities with their comrade-in-arms in Niamey, while ECOWAS bloc with Headquarters in Abuja insisted that the military must reinstate the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum back to power, saying anything short of this would attract the wrath of the West African economic alliance.
