Niger police: 15 officers killed in raid, sources say

Armed men killed 15 police officers in southwest Niger near the country's borders with Nigeria and Benin, local sources told AFP on Saturday.

The attack happened on Friday and targeted a gendarmerie station near Tessa in the Dosso region, a former local elected official told AFP. He said the attackers were unidentified armed men on motorbikes who probably came from neighbouring Nigeria.

A local official confirmed the toll of 15 dead to AFP, without giving further details. Videos posted on social media by locals appeared to show burnt-out vehicles and shelters inside the gendarmes' compound.

The victims were buried on Saturday at a cemetery in the city of Dosso. Niger's authorities had not made a statement on the attack at the time of the report.

The attackers have not been identified. AFP reported that the region has been affected by violence by groups linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group, and that the border zone saw fresh jihadist violence in 2025, according to the ACLED conflict monitor.