French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a defense council on Tuesday, August 11 following Sunday’s attack in Niger that left eight people dead, including six French nationals, the Elysee said.
In a statement released overnight Sunday to Monday, the French presidency said Emmanuel Macron had spoken with his Nigerien counterpart, Mahamadou Issoufou.
The two leaders “wish to recall that all means are and will be implemented to elucidate the circumstances of this murderous attack in the coming hours”, writes L’Elysée.
A defense council will be held on Tuesday morning “under the authority of the President of the Republic and on the basis of information which will be transmitted this Monday by the Nigerien and French authorities”, she added in the press release.
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (Pnat) announced on August 10 that it had opened an investigation for “assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise” and “terrorist criminal association” after the attack which left eight dead, including six French.
Reportedly there were four men and four women in the vehicle, who left for national reserve tour.
They were between 25 and 35 years old and died in the attack on the Kouré reserve on Sunday. Most of them highly educated, these four women and two men, who worked for the NGO Acted, all dreamed of a better and united world.
https://twitter.com/hmpafrica/status/1292946217719275520?s=21
Nigerian and French military, engaged in Barkahne mission in Sahel has started a counter-terrorist operation immediately in the afthermath of the attack in narutal park Kouré . A patrol of 2 Mirage 2000D was engaged in the area to search for the perpetrators. This “at the request of the Nigerien Armed Forces” states a statement from the military staff. This aerial patrol was then relayed by a drone.
A team of criminal identification technicians from Gao (Mali) was also pre-positioned on the Niamey BAP – planned air base – before being deployed to the area on Monday August 10 morning as part of ‘a mission of assistance to local police forces.
Image above: illustraiton
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