Niger Repels First Boko Haram Attack

The fighters of Boko Haram terror sect for the first time carried an attack in neighbours Niger town of Bosso just across the border from Nigeria, AFP reports.

The attack occurred in the morning today, February 6^th, but military repelled the insurgents by the end of the morning, according to governor of the regional capital of Diffa Yacouba Soumana Gaoh.

#BREAKING First clashes with Boko Haram in Niger: witnesses
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) February 6, 2015

“Order has been restored,” he told journalists at 12.00 GMT.
One of the witnesses said: “We could hear the sound of weapons all around the town, often very near our windows. There was the noise of heavy weapons and of light arms, making our houses shake.”

 

Niger’s military took on the Nigerian militants together with soldiers from Chad who have been deployed in Bosso since Monday, a humanitarian worker said, noting that insurgents “took the municipality” for a time before being “driven back to Nigeria“.

 

Meanwhile, the governor said that only Nigerien troops repelled the attack, while the Chadians were positioned at a distance.

“It was like a race across the town,” the local said. “As the fighting drew near, we heard cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greater). We heard an aircraft fly over the town.”

“We even saw smoke coming up from the town hall and the prefect’s office, where heavy gunfire was heard,” he continued in the Hausa language.

“It’s quiet now, but we’re staying home.”
At least five Niger soldiers were wounded in the attack, local officials told Reuters.

The Bosso town is home to thousands of Nigerian refugees who have fled Boko Haram.
Niger’s officials in Niamey, the capital of the country, are due to vote on Monday on a suggestion to send soldiers to Nigeria to assist in the war against Boko Haram.

Uganda has decided to deploy two battalions while Chad and Cameroon have already helped with its troops.

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