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Boko Haram kills 4, torches some 50 homes in Niger

Monday, 30 November 2015 7:11 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 30 November 2015 7:12 PM ]

Nigerien soldiers patrol in Bosso, near the Nigerian border, on May 25, 2015. (AFP photo)

Boko Haram Takfiri militants have attacked a village in southeast Niger, killing at least four people and burning some 50 homes.

Local authorities said on Monday that the latest assault took place in the country’s southeastern Diffa region, located on the border with Nigeria.

Fougou Boukar, an official from the restive region noted that the militants are believed to have come to Niger after crossing the Komadugu Yobe river which separates the country from Nigeria.

"There has been enormous damage with about 50 houses burnt," state television quoted Boukar as saying, adding, "The Boko Haram members were armed with Kalashnikovs and came across the Komadougou Yobe" river.

Local television showed hundreds of distressed villagers, praying in memory of the victims.

Also on November 25, Boko Haram killed 18 people and injured 11 others during a raid in the village of Wagon located near the southeastern town of Bosso.

In this February 13, 2014 picture buses full of displaced people from the Diffa, flee fighting between army and Boko Haram militants in the region. (AFP photo)

Diffa has witnessed several attacks since February, including one in June in which 38 people lost their lives.

Niger has joined a regional military alliance alongside Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria to battle Nigeria-based Boko Haram elements, whose violence has spilled over into several African nations.

The Boko Haram militancy began in 2009, when the terrorist group started an armed rebellion against the Nigerian government. At least 17,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million made homeless since then.

The terrorists have recently pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri militant group, which is primarily operating inside Syria and Iraq.

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