Thirteen Boko Haram fighters were killed during clashes with the army on Tuesday and four civilians were "executed" by jihadists in south-eastern Niger, we learned on Thursday July 1st.

"On Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at around 6 p.m., fighters from Boko Haram (branch of the Islamic State in West Africa, Iswap) aboard ten vehicles ambushed a military element on the axis Diffa-Mainé Soroa. This attack was thwarted thanks to the bravery of our land and air forces, "said the Joint Multinational Force (FMM, which associates Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger) in a statement.

Prior to this attack, the attackers intercepted a passenger bus and attacked "peaceful villagers", the statement said.

The results are as follows: "four civilians executed by the enemy" including the intercepted bus driver, two residents and a village chief.

Six soldiers and two women (civilians) were also injured, specifies the text.

Attacks multiply

"Enemy side: thirteen terrorists neutralized (killed)", underlines the source which ensures that a vehicle of the attackers, four AK-47 rifles, a collective weapon of caliber 12.7 mm and a "significant quantity of ammunition" were seized by the 'army.

Nigerian jihadists have been increasing attacks since May in this Niger region bordering Lake Chad and against Diffa, its large city.

On June 22, the Nigerien army repelled an attack by the jihadist group Boko Haram, killing three assailants in Bosso, a town in south-eastern Niger.

This attack occurred two days after the return of nearly 6,000 people in the locality of Baroua, located near Bosso, who had fled jihadist attacks in 2015.

Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum has been staying in Diffa since Thursday morning to see the start of the return of the displaced to their villages.

With AFP

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