Niger: deadly raid by Boko Haram on a village reinvested by former displaced people
Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum greeted by a cheering crowd in Baroua, July 2, 2021, a village undermined by repeated attacks.
© Niger Presidency
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Baroua is the first village concerned by the operation to return to the village of internally displaced Nigeriens.
The attack killed 16 Nigerien soldiers and around 50 in the terrorist camp.
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With our correspondent in Niamey,
Moussa Kaka
It was the positions of the army and the National Guard which secured the village of Baroua which were attacked by several hundred elements of Boko Haram, according to the statement from the Ministry of National Defense. Results: 16 dead on the military side, 9 others injured; around fifty "
neutralized
"
assailants
. The information comes from the Nigerien Minister of Defense, Alkassoum Indatou, by press release. Tuesday “
around 01:10 am
(00:10 GMT),
the positions of our Defense and Security Forces in Baroua, in the Diffa region, were the object of an attack by several hundred elements of Boko Haram who came by Lake Chad
”, killing“
sixteen
”soldiers and wounding“
nine
Others, the statement said.
About 6000 souls live in the village of Baroua, located 3 km from Lake Chad.
About two months ago, the entire population who had fled the village because of the incessant attacks by Boko Haram, returned to live in the streets of the abandoned village.
It was the first phase of the return of internal refugees to their land.
► Read also:
Niger: visit of President Bazoum to the ruined village of Baroua near Lake Chad
The brave populations of Baroua, who live from fishing and agriculture, had agreed to return to their village, on conditions, among other things, that they be secure.
By attacking this village, symbol of the first successful operation for the return of the displaced, Boko Haram wanted to sow chaos and discourage other displaced people from returning to their villages.
130,000 internally displaced people are crammed into makeshift hamlets along the National 1 and await their return.
As for Nigerien refugees, they are 123,000. Repatriation to their country of origin will end in December of this year.
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Niger
Boko Haram
Terrorism