Boko Haram attack near N'Gigmí, Niger kills at least ten soldiers

Members of the jihadist group Boko Haram attacked an armed forces position near the town of N'Gigmí in Niger's Diffa region on Friday morning, killing at least ten soldiers and four members of the national guard. Residents said the town, a fortified settlement on the shore of Lake Chad, has become a hotspot for Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates since 2009. A local witness told the French agency that "about ten soldiers were killed" and that the army was conducting clearance operations afterward. The governor of Diffa, General Mamadou Ibrahim Bagandouma, attended the funeral of the fallen troops.

The insurgency in the Lake Chad basin has caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced millions, spilling over into neighboring Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. In response to previous Boko Haram attacks, Chad launched airstrikes and ground operations in May with support from Niger and Nigeria, reviving the multinational force created in 1994.