KANO (Nigeria), July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigerian troops killed 45 members of an armed criminal gang in a shootout in the north-central Niger state, according to a conflict monitors’ report shared with the UN.
“Military troops, supported by hybrid forces and the Department of State Services (DSS), launched an ambush against armed bandits” on Friday evening, it said, adding that “a gun battle ensued, resulting in the deaths of 45 bandits and two soldiers”.
It was the latest clash in an offensive by the security forces on the armed gangs known as “bandits” that have taken root across Nigeria’s rural hinterlands amid poverty and government neglect.
On July 22 Nigerian troops killed at least 95 gang members during a military air and ground assault in the same state, the conflict monitor that produced the report said.
The latest violence struck on Friday in Iburu village, in the Shiroro local government area of Niger state, but the information was disclosed on Monday.
The report said that the operation was mounted following intelligence reports of a looming attack in and around Iburu.
The bandits raid, loot and burn villages, exact taxes, and conduct kidnappings for ransom.
In northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara state, bandits slaughtered 33 people they had kidnapped in February despite receiving a ransom. — NNN-AGENCIES
