Boko Haram Attacks in Niger Force 50,000 People to Flee
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Wcbm
About 50,000 people have fled a town in Niger’s troubled south-east after deadly attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, the UN said on Tuesday.
The attacks began on Friday against a military post in Bosso in Niger’s Diffa region, killing 26 soldiers including two from neighbouring Nigeria.
“An estimated 50,000 people or so fled,” Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for UN refugee agency UNHCR, told reporters in Geneva.
Fifty-five insurgents from the Nigeria-based Islamist group were killed and “many” were injured, according to authorities.
Edwards said most of the people fleeing the violence walked westwards to Toumour, some 30km west of Bosso. “Many people are reportedly traumatised and worried about their safety. People are sleeping in the open and urgently need shelter and other assistance,” he said.
