38 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Niger, Army Says

Niger and Chad forces killed 38 Boko Haram militants this week during military operations in the Diffa region of southeast Niger, a spokesman for Niger’s defense ministry said late Friday. Weapons and munitions were also reportedly seized during the operation. The army operation came after Boko Haram attacked the town of Gueskerou, which “caused a psychosis in the population,” an NGO worker told AFP. Boko Haram fighters “torched houses and stole food and medicines after pillaging shops and a pharmacy,” the unnamed NGO worker was cited as saying. At least 20,000 people have been killed in Nigeria and surrounding areas throughout Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency. The group has only been active in Niger since February 2015.