Categories: News

After Repeated Boko Haram Attacks Nigeriens Flee, State of Emergency Declared

After being the target of Boko Haram for the first time since last week, Niger has declared a state of emergency in the border town of Diffa (pictured), according to the BBC.

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Diffa has had the unfortunate experience of falling in to the crosshairs of Islamic militant sect Boko Haram.

As Face2Face Africa previously reported:

On Friday morning, Boko Haram reportedly hit the town of Bosso with heavy artillery. At the time, one witness told the AFP, “We can hear the sound of weapons all around the town, often very near our windows.

“There is the noise of heavy weapons and of light arms, making our houses shake.”

In the confrontation, Niger forces reportedly killed 109 terrorists, while only sustaining five losses — one was a civilian.

By Monday, the militants set their sights on a prison in the town of Diffa, but were reportedly trounced by Chad and Niger forces.

The prison win, though, didn’t stop Boko Haram from setting off a car bomb that was also in the same town, killing one and wounding 15.

The attacks have reportedly forced Diffa residents to flee 310 miles (500 km) to Zinder city; a convoy of 200 refugees was said to already arrive there on Tuesday.

Refugees

Consequently, Diffa’s governor reportedly instituted a state of emergency, which enables him to pass restrictions without the passing of laws.

Diffa currently has a curfew in place, where residents must stay indoors between 7 P.M. and 12 P.M. EST (19:00 and 05:00 GMT).

On Monday, Niger officials voted to contribute 700 troops to the regional anti-terrorist effort with neighbors Chad, Benin, Cameroon, and Nigeria.

Boko Haram Appear Indefatigable

Meanwhile, militants attempted to attack Chadian troops who are stationed in northeastern Nigeria Wednesday.

But their efforts were in vain.

“We knew they were going to attack us,” a Chadian military official told Reuters news agency. “We were waiting. The battle didn’t last long.”

In recent weeks, Boko Haram has been focusing their destruction on Cameroon as well as the area of Lake Chad, where Niger, Chad, and Nigeria converge.

In Cameroon alone, they hijacked a bus with nearly 30 market-goers and slit the throats of 70 civilians in the last week.

Abena Agyeman-Fisher

Abena Agyeman-Fisher is the Editor-in-Chief of Face2Face Africa. Most recently, she worked for Interactive One as the Senior Editor of NewsOne, she worked for AOL as the News Programming Manager of Black Voices, which later became HuffPo Black Voices, and for the New York Times Company as an Associate Health Editor. Abena, a Spelman College graduate, has been published in Al Jazeera, the Daily Beast, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger, the Grio, BlackVoices, West Orange Patch, About.com, the Source, Vibe, Vibe Vixen, Jane, and Upscale Magazines. She has interviewed top celebrities, icons, and politicians, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, Civil Rights activist and diplomat Andrew Young, comedian Bill Cosby, Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott, actress and singer Queen Latifah, Olympic Gold winner Cullen Jones, international supermodel Alek Wek, and five-division world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather. Most recently, she served as the First Lady’s press reporter during President Barack Obama’s U.S.-Africa Summit, Young African Leaders Institute event, and the 2013 presidential trip to Senegal, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tanzania. Abena is also a 2015 International Women's Media Foundation Africa Great Lakes Fellow, where she reported on women candidates and Chinese sweatshops in Tanzania for CNN and Refinery29.