7 Nigerien policemen killed in Boko Haram attack against IDP camp

Seven police constables were killed in a Thursday attack at the Nguagam camp hosting refugees and IDPs in southeastern Niger who are fleeing the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram.

“Seven policemen were killed. They were buried today (Friday),” a source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The attack took place shortly after the passing of a high ministerial delegation which included MPs and representatives of the UN and humanitarian personnel in the region.

“At around 5:30 p.m., three Boko Haram vehicles came to this area … They went to attack the police position making them abandon their posts. They took the vehicles and set fire to the police camp,” Al Hadj Kilibou, one of the displaced persons at the Nguagam camp told AFP.

“They (Boko Haram) were wearing gendarmes and policemen uniforms aboard vehicles. I saw them with my own eyes. They passed by me. They told me: Do not run, stay, we do not kill the civilians,” he added.

Al Hadj Kilibou had fled the town of Bosso, scene of a massive Boko Haram attack of June 3 where 26 Nigeriens and Nigerian soldiers and civilians were killed and 50,000 people displaced.

Under heavy military surveillance, the Nigerien ministerial mission distributed food in the morning till late afternoon in Nguagam. “It aimed to assess the situation after the attack on June 3 and show government support to the people,” the Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum said.

The attack of 3 June on the border town of Bosso is one of the deadliest carried out by Boko Haram in Niger since the country officially joined the war against the Islamist insurgents in February 2015.