Niger army says repelled rebel attack on oil pipeline

Niger’s army said Wednesday it had repelled a rebel attack targeting a major oil pipeline in the east of the country, while the assailants said they had inflicted “heavy losses” on the security forces.

The Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ), which calls for the reinstatement of deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, has carried out sporadic attacks on the pipeline for two years.

The 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) long pipeline exports crude oil from landlocked Niger to the Atlantic ports of neighbouring Benin.

The state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) helps run the pipeline.

The army said in its weekly operations bulletin that a site in the Agadem oil block was targeted in an attempted attack on Tuesday by armed individuals from the rebel MPLJ.

“The swift and decisive response of the defence and security forces forced these mercenaries to retreat in disarray, abandoning military material and equipment,” the army said.

It showed images of an abandoned vehicle that was marked MPLJ, weapons and bodies of suspected assailants.

The army said it had pursued the assailants, who retreated towards Chad “from where they came”.

The rebel group said in a statement the army had suffered “heavy losses” with a toll of at least 24 soldiers killed. AFP was unable to independently verify the claim.

It also said it had seriously damaged oil infrastructure and that one of its combatants had died.

The group further warned the CNPC that direct or indirect collaboration with the ruling junta in Niger exposed it to attacks.

The junta, under General Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in July 2023, has made sovereignty a priority, particularly of the west African country’s mining resources.

However, the MPLJ, which presents itself as being made up of nomadic herders, complains that local people still benefit far too little from the oil wealth of the country’s northeast.

It also calls for the return of Niger’s constitutional order.

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