Nigerien troops serving under the G5 Sahel Joint Force have seized a large cache of assorted weapons used by ISIS-affiliated terrorists after a 10-day military operation in northern Niger. The counter-terrorism mission was carried out by soldiers from the Madama Battalion in Niger in the eastern zone of operations in the Niger-Chad border area. Madama is in the far north of Niger, near the borders with Chad and Libya.
The weapons were discovered in a cave and included assault rifles, handguns, anti-tank rockets, grenades and several crates of small-caliber ammunition, as well as surveillance equipment. Additionally, five individuals were arrested in the vicinity coming from Libya with weapons and indicating that the weapons may have come from Libya which has become a fundamental smuggling route for weapons into the Sahel region.
Air support during the 10-day operation was provided by the Niger Air Force and the France-led Operation Barkhane force. France maintains a military base near the airport in Niger’s capital Niamey airport and another at Madama.
