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.
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.”
Messaoudou spoke after Boko Haram militants
attacked a village in Niger while a delegation of
ministers were visiting, killing seven gendarmes and
wounding 12 in a gun battle.
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.
