15 anti-rebel actions involving French soldiers are listed by Niger.

According to the Nigerian army, from July to October, French and Nigerien soldiers carried out 15 “joint operations” along the unstable border with Mali to capture weapons and ammunition from Islamist fighters.

According to the UN’s development index, Niger is the world’s poorest nation. It is now waging two insurgencies that have spread to its neighbors.

In the Almahaou zone between July and October 2022, 15 actions were jointly planned and executed, according to an army statement.

The anti-jihadist militia of Niger, known as the Almahaou—whirlwind in Djerma—is mostly stationed in the large and unstable Tillaberi area, which borders Mali and Burkina Faso.

Last Saturday, a terrorist assault on vehicles close to the Niger-Mali border left at least 11 people dead.

The collaborative operations were evaluated this week at a conference with French “partners,” the army of Niger stated, referring to the Barkhane soldiers sent by Paris. The meeting was presided over by Niger’s army chief of staff General Salifou Modi.

In addition to the destruction of multiple logistical centers and motorized transports, the raids resulted in the seizure of weapons, ammunition, and communications equipment.

Additionally, 30 individuals were detained.

The distribution of food and a restoration to agricultural operations have been made possible by “these steps,” according to Modi.

Additionally, free medical consultations were made accessible nearby.

The “good result of the operations” and the tight collaboration with Barkhane were praised by Modi.

On its border with Nigeria’s southeast, Niamey has long-running Boko Haram operations, while in its southwest, jihadists from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have been waging a ferocious seven-year attack.

The Niger administration is concerned about a security vacuum that would worsen the situation along their shared 800-kilometer (500-mile) border once French personnel are withdrawn from Mali this summer.

Around 3,000 French soldiers are still stationed in the Sahel, 1,700 of them in Niger.

Since 2020, the Barkhane force has been driven out of Bamako by the governing junta, which is suspected of cooperating with Russia’s enigmatic private paramilitary organization Wagner.