Niger, Chad troops launch ground, air strike against Boko Haram

The armies of Niger and Chad yesterday launched a major ground and air strike against Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, open­ing a new front in regional ef­forts to defeat the militants.

The offensive announced by a source in the Niger gov­ernment came after Boko Ha­ram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to the Is­lamic State group in an audio message. “An offensive is un­derway against Boko Haram,” the source told AFP. “Very early this morning, the troops from Niger and Chad began an offensive against Boko Ha­ram… in the area of Bosso and near to Diffa.”
Thousands of troops from Niger and Chad have been positioned in Diffa for more than a month in a bid to quash the militant group which has undermined security in the re­gion with cross-border attacks, kidnappings and killings.
A resident of Diffa, located in Niger near the Nigerian bor­der, told AFP he saw troops headed toward the frontier early yesterday followed by the sounds of heavy arms fire.
“After some time, the deto­nations grew further away, an apparent sign that the troops were moving inside Nigeria,” he said. Privately owned radio station Anfani, based in Diffa, reported more than 200 vehi­cles, including those equipped with machine guns as well as tanks, ambulances, water tankers and transport trucks, in a convoy moving toward the Nigerian border.
It also reported that aircraft had targeted Boko Haram po­sitions on Saturday and early yesterday. An aid worker told AFP that heavy arms fire came from the direction of the Dout­chi bridge connecting Niger to Nigeria yesterday morning.
Boko Haram leader Abuba­kar Shekau announced in an audio message on Satur­day night that his group has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), describing it as a religious duty and saying it would “enrage the enemy of Allah”.
The declaration raises the possibility that Western pow­ers, which have so far stayed out of direct military op­erations in northeast Nigeria, might be pulled into the con­flict.