Boko Haram crossed the border into neighbouring Niger, setting homes ablaze and killing at least 40 people, a local government said Thursday.
The attack marks the latest attempt by Boko Haram to strike inside neighbouring countries that have joined the Nigerian military’s attempt to quash the group. Earlier this week, authorities in Chad blamed the group for two suicide bombings in the capital that left at least 33 people dead.
Yakouba Soumana Gaoh, the governor of Niger’s Diffa region, said his country’s army was hunting down those responsible for the violence overnight in the towns of Lamana and Ngoumawa. “The attackers looted stores, burned villages and shot at people who tried to flee,” he said.
In April, Boko Haram attacked Niger and killed at least 58 people, saying the assault was in retaliation for Niger’s support of the Nigerian military.
