Niger’s armed forces conducted a series of raids this week targeting illegal gold mining operations in the country’s western region, which have been exploited by jihadi-linked rebel groups to finance their ongoing insurgency since 2015.
According to an official army statement, the raids took place last week in the Tagueye locality near Niger’s western border with Burkina Faso, an area that has long been a hotspot for militant activity from Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.
The military confirmed that the illegal mining sites are no longer operational or under insurgent control. The statement reported that 13 insurgents were killed and one was arrested during the operations, while the mining activities were effectively shut down.
These illegal mining enterprises have been a significant source of funding for jihadi groups, fueling their continued attacks and destabilization efforts. The raids aimed to "dry up the sources of financing for terrorist activities," the military declared.
Niger, alongside its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has been grappling with a decade-long insurgency that has severely impacted the economy, resulted in large areas of lost government control in the west and south, and displaced millions of people.
It is estimated that close to 20% of the population required humanitarian aid in 2024.
Following coups between 2020 and 2023, Niger and its regional allies established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). They have expelled French, American, and other Western troops, turning instead to Russian security assistance.
Russian forces have been present in Niger since early 2024, providing training and support to Nigerien forces in combating jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
AES has also withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier this year, leaving the Nigerian and Western-led bloc that had been the dominant force in West African geopolitics since the end of colonialism.