Niger authorities announced that army units repelled, with heavy weapons, a major attack by the terrorist group Boko Haram on Diffa, the large city located in southeastern Niger near the border with Nigeria, without announcing the outcome of the losses.
A senior official in the local government of Diffa region said that “elements of the terrorist group Boko Haram launched an attack on Diffa from the direction of Bagara town, south of the city,” adding that “the armed forces and security forces responded with heavy fire that included heavy weapons.”
Another source in the local government confirmed the attack, but without explaining its circumstances.
According to the same official, “the situation is now under control in the city,” which has a population of 200,000, noting that “there is no outcome so far, and the battles have caused panic among the residents.”
Since 2015, the city of Diffa in Niger has been subjected to several attacks by fighters from the Boko Haram and ISIS terrorist organization in West Africa, which resulted in many deaths
