Voice of America
26 May 2022, 16:05 GMT+10
Niamey, Niger - The Niger government said Wednesday that the army had killed around 40 Boko Haram jihadis in overnight fighting on islets in Lake Chad.
'Some 100 Boko Haram fighters arrived in four large wooden canoes and an armed speedboat' and attempted to attack troops on the islets of the lake, which borders Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, the defense ministry said.
The soldiers 'forced the assailants to flee with several dead in their ranks,' the ministry said.
A subsequent operation in the area 'led to the neutralization of some 40 fighters' and the recovery of several weapons along with ammunition and explosives.
On the army side, seven soldiers were injured when their vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device, the ministry said.
The Lake Chad basin, and its countless small islands, has become one of the main havens for jihadis from Nigeria's Boko Haram and its dissident branch, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad revived the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) in 2015 to fight the extremists.
The forces launched a new offensive in March that aimed to 'completely destroy Boko Haram and other terrorist groups which plague the basin,' a senior MJTF official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP earlier this month.
The joint force killed some 20 jihadis in an operation in early May.
Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeast Nigeria in 2009 before it spread to neighboring countries.
More than 36,000 people have been killed since, mainly in Nigeria, and 3 million were forced to flee their homes, the United Nations says.
Get a daily dose of Madagascar Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Madagascar Sun.
More InformationNew Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): Ahead of the G7 Summit where he will be meeting with German Chancellor Olaf ...
Mogadishu [Somalia], June 25 (ANI/Xinhua): Somali Parliament on Saturday unanimously approved the appointment of Hamza Abdi Barre as the country's ...
New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): ATK Mohun Bagan have further added to their list of acquisitions and maintained its ...
© Provided by Xinhua In America, the wealthy, powerful, and influential NRA spends millions of dollars annually supporting Republican candidates ...
ABU DHABI, 25th June, 2022 (WAM) -- President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a congratulatory ...
London [UK], June 25 (ANI): Nottingham Forest on Saturday confirmed the signing of Nigerian international forward Taiwo Awoniyi for a ...
MOSCOW, Russia: The UK newspaper, the Telegraph, has been blocked in Russia, following a request from the Russian prosecutor-general.The TASS ...
LAHORE, Pakistan - An Airbus 320 carrying 171 passengers narrowly avoided an accident at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Pakistan's second-largest ...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday vowed to "do all in my power" to protect a woman's ...
YANGON, Myanmar - According to military-run media, a junta delegation discussed nuclear technology collaboration with a Russian state-owned atomic energy ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing more than Tk2.3 crore in emergency funding ...
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian villagers on the Mekong River have caught a stingray fish weighing 661 pounds, which is the ...