Niger’s prolonged struggle with terrorism is impacting the efficiency of its extractive sectors. To address the security challenges, the nation plans to grow its armed forces to 100,000 by 2030.
Niger has announced plans to create a “Command of Forces for Protection and Development” to address “terrorist attacks on strategic sites,” including its oil wells, the nearly 2,000 km pipeline to Sèmè-Kpodji (Benin), uranium mines, and trade routes.
Colonel-Major Moukaila Sofiani, director of strategic studies at the Ministry of Defense, stated that the initiative aims to prevent sabotage, terrorist attacks, and other security threats to these crucial sites, in response to pressing security needs.
The recruitment of 10,000 personnel for this protection force is scheduled to start in early July. This decision follows a recent terrorist attack on the pipeline at the Tibiri site in the Maradi region, which resulted in the destruction of several vehicles and the deaths of 6 Nigerien soldiers.
Various parts of Niger are still exposed to terrorist threats, especially in the western region and the three-border area with Mali and Burkina Faso, where AQIM and Islamic State-affiliated groups have carried out numerous attacks recently. In the South-East, near Lake Chad, there have also been reports of Boko Haram presence.