At least 20 soldiers and a civilian were killed in an attack by armed groups in western Niger, according to the Ministry of Defence.

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Following Tuesday’s ambush near the village of Tassia in the Tillaberi region, the ministry announced three days of national mourning starting Wednesday. Nine others were wounded in the attack.

The incident occurred close to the Burkina Faso border and was carried out by a coalition of armed groups, though the specific groups were not named. The ministry reported that soldiers killed dozens of attackers while defending themselves. Aerial and ground reinforcements have been deployed to track down the remaining assailants.

Niger’s military government, which took power last year after a coup, has expelled French and U.S. forces and has sought assistance from Russian mercenaries to combat ongoing armed rebellions.

Niger is among several West African countries facing multiple armed insurgencies that originated in Mali over the past 12 years, resulting in thousands of deaths and millions displaced. This ongoing violence has led to military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger since 2020.

The Tillaberi region, where Tassia is located, has been a hotspot for rebel activity linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) for almost a decade. In March, another attack in Tillaberi, claimed by ISIL, resulted in the deaths of at least 23 Nigerien soldiers.

Last week, the rebel group Patriotic Liberation Front attacked a China-backed pipeline, threatening further actions if a $400 million deal with China was not canceled.