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Soldiers Repel Boko Haram Attack in Niger

by VOA News February 06, 2015

Witnesses say Nigerian militant group Boko Haram attacked a town in Niger on Friday, but were driven back by forces from Niger and Chad.

The attack on Bosso, a town of about 50,000 on Niger's southern border, marked the second time this week that the Islamist extremists launched a cross-border attack. At least 110 people were killed after they assaulted the town of Fotocol in far northern Cameroon on Wednesday.

Bosso residents reported hearing heavy weapons fire during Friday morning's battle. The Reuters news agency reports that 'at least five local soldiers' were wounded.

Chad's army stationed several hundred troops in Bosso on Tuesday. The central African country has taken a lead role in the multinational coalition now fighting Boko Haram. Plans are underway to set up a regional force of 7,500 soldiers to fight the group. Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin have pledged to contribute troops.

Chadian forces helped Cameroon's army repel Boko Haram militants from the town of Fotocol in Cameroon, after two days of intense fighting.

Cameroon's defense minister said Thursday that at least 91 civilians, 13 Chadian soldiers and six Cameroonian soldiers were killed, along with an undetermined number of Boko Haram fighters.

He said at least 500 people were wounded and warned the final death toll could go higher.

A Fotocol resident, Abou Ismalia, told VOA's French to Africa Service that the militants killed everyone inside the town's three largest mosques. Other residents have said the fighters entered the mosques and slit the throats of Muslims who had gathered for early morning prayers.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people since launching its insurgency in 2009. It has taken over parts of northeastern Nigeria for what it calls an Islamic caliphate.

Regional concerns grew when Boko Haram seized a multinational military base on the shores of Lake Chad in January.

Human rights group Amnesty International said the militants also burned down thousands of buildings in the Nigerian town of Baga and areas nearby.

The insurgency has emerged as a central issue in Nigeria's February 14 presidential election. President Goodluck Jonathan has come under intense criticism for failing to subdue the militants or recover more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from the town of Chibok last April.

The violence has prompted some Nigerians to call for postponing the election. But on Thursday, an advisory council of Nigeria's top leaders said voting should go ahead as planned.