According to state television, suspected armed Islamists killed 12 soldiers in Niger's rural southwest on Tuesday in the latest incident since army officers seized power last month.
Tele Sahel said an anti-jihadist operation by national guards was "the target of an ambush" Sunday evening in the Tillaberi region's Anzourou.
It said the forces' "response... resulted in heavy losses inflicted on the enemy."
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According to the report, the troops were laid to rest in a ceremony attended by the province's military governor, Lieutenant-Colonel Maina Boucar.
According to authorities, at least 17 troops were killed on August 15 near the village of Koutougou, also in Tillaberi.
Twenty more soldiers were injured, and they claim that more than 100 assailants were "neutralised" while fleeing on motorcycles.
This attack comes barely a month after Six Niger soldiers and ten terrorists. A statement published by the National Guard High Command on Sunday noted that suspected terrorists on motorcycles ambushed troops in the western town of Sanam.
ECOWAS has threatened to use force to restore Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who was arrested on July 26 by guards.
The African Union said Tuesday that it has suspended Niger until the civilian government was restored and that any armed action would be evaluated.
The new authorities of Niger justified their coup by citing a perceived deterioration in security under Bazoum.
For over a decade, rebels have terrorized West Africa's Sahel region, first erupting in northern Mali in 2012 before extending to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project, attacks on civilians decreased by 49 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same time in 2022, while the number of deaths decreased by 16 per cent.
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