Niger intercepts almost 1,400 Boko Haram followers – Military

Almost 1,400 followers of jihadist group Boko Haram have been intercepted fleeing into Niger following clashes with a rival Islamic State group, in response to the military.

The exodus into southeastern Niger began in March, when the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) pursued Boko Haram in its forest hideout of Sambisa, northeastern Niger.

Niger’s armed forces have up to now caught 1,397 folks, a lot of them ladies and youngsters, in response to an announcement from the military’s southeastern area, seen by AFP.

They’ve been handed over to the Nigerian navy authorities, it stated.

“Round 30 terrorists” who refused to give up have been killed, it added.

Boko Haram launched a bloody marketing campaign in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 that has left over 40,000 lifeless and displaced round two million from their houses, in response to UN figures.

It turned globally infamous in 2014 for abducting 276 schoolgirls within the city of Chibok, 96 of whom stay lacking.

But the group split in 2016, giving birth to ISWAP, which now dominates in a fratricidal conflict.

The Boko Haram followers have been attempting to achieve the marshlands of the huge Lake Chad area, whose islands have lengthy been a bolthole for jihadists.

The motion was first noticed on March 7, as folks walked alongside the Kamadougou Yoge River marking the border between the 2 international locations.

Six days later, Nigerien troops in a regional anti-jihadist process power launched an operation that killed 20 jihadists and captured 83 others, in response to the military.

The southeastern area of Diffa, which has borne the brunt of jihadist assaults over time, has been comparatively calm for the reason that begin of 2023, a safety supply instructed AFP.

Nevertheless, landmines sown by rebels proceed to assert lives. Final month, seven troopers died and almost a dozen have been wounded in blasts.

Niger can be going through a jihadist insurgency on its southwestern border with Mali.