Over the weekend, Boko Haram began several attacks against bordering Niger towns as well as towns in Cameroon. The fights lasted for several hours at a time; though the toll is unclear, there are reports of abducted civilians.
On Friday, the militants began an offensive on the Niger town of Diffa, near the southern border of Niger, as well as on the town of Bosso. Since then, the militants attacked Diffa a total of three times, before retreating. The third encounter involved Niger forces backed by Chadian soldiers. Residents heard explosions and gunfire throughout the night on Saturday. The battle subsided at 5 in the morning. Boko Haram allegedly fired shells into the border town, one of the shells landed in a marketplace and killed one individual and injured at least six others. Diffa is currently home to thousands of Nigerian refugees who fled from Boko Haram.
The Associated Press reports that Boko Haram abducted 20 individuals in northern Cameroon on Sunday. The militants hijacked a bus with twenty passengers onboard, and drove it back to the Nigerian border. Further, on Monday morning, the militants attacked the Cameroonian town of Kolofata. They seized food and livestock.
The regions leaders gathered on Saturday in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde to form a regional defense force to combat Boko Haram. Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, and Benin will each contribute soldiers to create an 8,750-troop force.
Conflict with Boko Haram in the north has forced Nigeria to postpone its presidential elections to March 28. The original date was set for February 14, but was pushed back because of security concerns; a significant amount of Nigerian troops will be stationed in the north to combat the militants. Nigeria’s National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki stated that there would be no more postponement of the elections.
