Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a village in Niger Republic
while a delegation of ministers were visiting, killing seven gendarmes
(police officers) and wounding 12 in a gun battle, the military said on
Friday.
The attack happened on Thursday in a village in the region of Diffa
that hosts refugees and internally displaced people who have been
forced from their home by the Islamist insurgents, officials said. The
ministers were unharmed.
Neighbouring Chad has sent troops to help Niger in a planned
counterattack against Boko Haram after the militants seized the southern
Niger town of Bosso in an attack that killed 26 soldiers.
Niger's government has called on former colonial power France,
which already has 3,500 troops spread across five countries in West
Africa, to strengthen military operations against the Nigeria-based Boko
Haram and other militants.
Niger's defence minister, Hassoumi Messaoudou, told Radio France International on Friday that regional leaders needed to "rethink Boko Haram" and called on regional forces to defeat the group in Nigeria.
"We thought they were reduced to making suicide attacks," he said. "Now they have rebuilt their military forces. We are dealing with an army"
Reuters
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