Niger closes gold mining site in Say department after terrorist attack

Nigerien authorities have shut down the gold mining site of Tamou in the department of Say in reaction to a string of attacks that targeted the site, anadolu news agency reports.
Barmini Kaboyé, the Prefet of the department in a decree issued Thursday the site is shut down until further notice.
The decree also indicated that the decision aims at protecting the local population of Say living around the site located in natural revered park, against dangers they are exposed to.
Two armed attacks, one on Saturday and other on Monday, targeted the site.
“Following the terrorist attack on Saturday, October 22, on the mixed Water and Forests and Police station in Tamou, and on Monday, October 24, on the second police station, which resulted in the death of two police officers, ground sweeps and aerial searches led to the discovery of enemy elements who had escaped to a clandestine gold-mining site in the Tamou locality,” Defense Minister Alkassoum Indattou said in a statement Tuesday this week.
Tamou is located in the Tillabéri region, some 100 km South-West of capital Niamey and close to “Parc du W”, a forest reserve protected by Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin.
The area has been the target of repeated armed attacks recently. Early this week, two police officers were killed at a checkpoint by unidentified armed men who assaulted the security personnel.