Main PageBoko Haram attacks island on Niger side of Lake Chad
Niamey - Boko Haram militants attacked an island
on Niger's side of Lake Chad late on Friday and
heavy fighting ensued as the army sought to repel
them, residents and security sources said.
The Lake Chad area - a vast maze of tiny islands and
swampland sheltering thousands of Nigerian
refugees - is thought to be serving as a hideout for
the Islamist insurgent group.
"There was heavy weapons and machine gun fire
from about 20:00 local time," said a resident of
Niger's nearby lakeside town of N'Guigmi, which
Boko Haram attempted to seize earlier this month.
Two security forces also confirmed the attack,
without providing further details.
It was not immediately clear which island had been
attacked on Friday and whether it was inhabited, but
the security sources and residents said it was in
Niger and within 50 km (30 miles) of the borders
with Chad and Nigeria.
One of the security sources said it would provide a
strategic, concealed base for the militants to co-
ordinate future attacks if they won control.
Last week, Boko Haram fighters aboard motorised
canoes attacked a lakeside fishing village in Chad,
killing at least five people in the group's first known
lethal attack on that country.
The Sunni group, which has killed thousands of
people in a six-year insurgency in Nigeria, has been
gaining strength in the past year. It has carved out a
territory the size of Belgium in the northeast of the
country and intensified cross-border raids.
But regional forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon
and Niger have won battles against the group in
recent weeks as they seek to hem them within their
heartland.
Also read: Boko Haram kill 21 in Chibok villages
Niger, a poor desert nation, is also seeking to
dismantle clandestine Boko Haram networks around
its southern border. The defence ministry on Friday
raised 2 billion CFA Francs to help the army fight the
jihadists via a telethon campaign.
France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius is due to
arrive in Chad on Saturday as part of a 48-hour trip
to countries affected by Boko Haram's insurgency.
He will then travel to Cameroon and Niger.
So far the countries' former colonial master, which
has a strong military presence and fighter jets in the
region, says it is not directly involved in fighting
Boko Haram, restricting itself to providing
intelligence and logistical aid.
Military chiefs will meet in Chad's capital N'Djamena
next week to finalise plans for a 8,700-strong task-
force of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria,
Benin and Niger to fight the militant group, although
it is not clear how effective coordination will be.
The United States is also deepening its commitment
to countering the group and will share
communications equipment and intelligence with
African allies.
on Niger's side of Lake Chad late on Friday and
heavy fighting ensued as the army sought to repel
them, residents and security sources said.
The Lake Chad area - a vast maze of tiny islands and
swampland sheltering thousands of Nigerian
refugees - is thought to be serving as a hideout for
the Islamist insurgent group.
"There was heavy weapons and machine gun fire
from about 20:00 local time," said a resident of
Niger's nearby lakeside town of N'Guigmi, which
Boko Haram attempted to seize earlier this month.
Two security forces also confirmed the attack,
without providing further details.
It was not immediately clear which island had been
attacked on Friday and whether it was inhabited, but
the security sources and residents said it was in
Niger and within 50 km (30 miles) of the borders
with Chad and Nigeria.
One of the security sources said it would provide a
strategic, concealed base for the militants to co-
ordinate future attacks if they won control.
Last week, Boko Haram fighters aboard motorised
canoes attacked a lakeside fishing village in Chad,
killing at least five people in the group's first known
lethal attack on that country.
The Sunni group, which has killed thousands of
people in a six-year insurgency in Nigeria, has been
gaining strength in the past year. It has carved out a
territory the size of Belgium in the northeast of the
country and intensified cross-border raids.
But regional forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon
and Niger have won battles against the group in
recent weeks as they seek to hem them within their
heartland.
Also read: Boko Haram kill 21 in Chibok villages
Niger, a poor desert nation, is also seeking to
dismantle clandestine Boko Haram networks around
its southern border. The defence ministry on Friday
raised 2 billion CFA Francs to help the army fight the
jihadists via a telethon campaign.
France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius is due to
arrive in Chad on Saturday as part of a 48-hour trip
to countries affected by Boko Haram's insurgency.
He will then travel to Cameroon and Niger.
So far the countries' former colonial master, which
has a strong military presence and fighter jets in the
region, says it is not directly involved in fighting
Boko Haram, restricting itself to providing
intelligence and logistical aid.
Military chiefs will meet in Chad's capital N'Djamena
next week to finalise plans for a 8,700-strong task-
force of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria,
Benin and Niger to fight the militant group, although
it is not clear how effective coordination will be.
The United States is also deepening its commitment
to countering the group and will share
communications equipment and intelligence with
African allies.
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