[2][3] At around 8 a.m. local time on May 14, the Nigerien soldiers were ambushed in the village of Siwili, near Baley Beri.

[2][4] The ambush began with a suicide car bomber, followed immediately by jihadists opening fire on and assaulting the Nigerien forces.

[4][5] Testimony from survivors of the attack stated that around 100 jihadists took part in the ambush, transported on 4 to 5 vehicles and 20 motorcycles.

[9][10] Nicholas Desgrais, a PhD student at the University of Kent, stated that he and other analysts thought that ISGS had lost operational capacity due to a massive offensive by Operation Barkhane, the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad, and GATIA in the tri-border region between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

[7] The dead and wounded were found within a fifteen kilometer radius of the battle, and the bodies of the killed soldiers were buried in Tilwa, Niger on the night of May 15 and 16.

[4] The ISGS claimed 40 Nigerien soldiers were killed or wounded and three vehicles were captured in their May 16 statement.