Chad deploys 2,000 troops to fight Boko Haram
June 8, 2016
Chad sent thousands of troops to Niger to engage the Boko Haram militant group following a week of attacks in the Niger's border town Bosso.
"About 2,000 soldiers with tanks went into Niger yesterday. They should link up with the Nigerien forces in Diffa and advance on Bosso," a Chadian military source told Reuters news agency.
Niger's defense ministry on Saturday said the militants staged an overnight attack on the border town, leaving 30 Nigerien troops and two from Nigeria dead.
The ministry added that there were also "several deaths" among the militants.
"The Boko Haram gunmen stayed in Bosso … burning military barracks, police facilities and local administration offices before looting shops and carting away good supplies," a local journalist working with Radio Anfani told AFP news agency.
The militants' onslaught forced 50,000 people to flee the area, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). The majority of them attempted to reach Toumour, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the border town.
"Many people are reportedly traumatized and worried about their safety," said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards.
"The welfare of these people and others forced to flee the violence in Bosso is of great concern," Edwards added.
ls/kms (AFP, Reuters)