7/25/2025–|Last update: 15:19 (Mecca time)
The Nigerian army announced, on Tuesday, the implementation of a large -scale military operation in the northwestern state of Niger, killing at least 95 members of armed groups known as a “bandits”, in the context of thwarting an attack under preparation, according to a report prepared by UN experts and was seen by the French Press Agency.
Wild units and air force were participated in the operation, where air strikes were carried out by violent clashes using artillery, and targeted two areas, Rari and Qarada, according to the same report.
The states of the northwest of Nigeria have been experiencing years ago from the spread of armed groups that practice activities that include blackmail, robbery, arms smuggling and the kidnapping of civilians in exchange for a ransom, in light of the limited presence of the state in rural areas.
Local sources indicate that these groups arose after conflicts around the pastures and theft of livestock, before they evolved into paramilitary formations taken from the forests of Zemfara, Katsina, Cadona and Niger.
Official reservation and human rights criticism
While the army confirmed, on Wednesday, “neutralizing a number of terrorists”, it refrained from providing a precise death toll, saying only that one of its members was killed.
And an intelligence source reported that this reservation comes within a new policy aimed at limiting the flow of field information to armed groups, which may help them amend their plans and movements.
Security analysts believe that some of these armed gangs coordinated their operations with jihadist organizations active in the northeast of the country, most notably the Boko Haram and ISIS group in West Africa, which deepens security challenges and increases the complexity of the scene, despite the recent improvement in coordination between the Air Force and Land.
The escalation of air strikes has sparked criticism from human rights organizations, against the backdrop of reports that hundreds of civilian victims have fallen during the past years, which is an additional factor that increases the difficulty of calm efforts and stability to the affected areas.