More than 40 people killed in a mine attack in western Nigeria

Authorities confirm the kidnapping of four Chinese citizens and several Nigerians

July 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Around 40 people, including 37 members of the Nigerian security forces, have been killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a mine in the western state of Niger.

The Niger authorities have confirmed the attack, without providing a balance, although local sources quoted by the Nigerian newspaper ‘The Premium Times’ have pointed out that 43 people have died, including 30 soldiers and seven policemen.

Residents cited by this means have also indicated that several people have been kidnapped, including four Chinese citizens, an extreme confirmed by the Commissioner for Internal Security of the state of Niger, Emmanuel Umar.

Umar has indicated that four Chinese citizens and several Nigerian workers in the mine have been kidnapped, while stressing that the intervention of the military has made it possible to rescue several workers injured in the attack.

“The state government recognizes all the efforts of the joint security operations and the communities in order to face the increase in insecurity in some areas of the state,” the Niger Commissioner for Internal Security has settled.

Insecurity in Nigeria, previously centered in the northeast of the country, has spread in recent months to other areas in the north and northwest, raising alarms about the possible expansion of these terrorist and criminal networks.