Chad, Niger forces kill 123 Boko Haram militants in a crackdown

Niger’s Defence Ministry said a joint military operation between Chad and Niger has killed 123 Boko Haram militants since July and recovered a significant quantity of weapons.

Allied Chadian-Nigerien forces launched an offensive against the Islamists after a surprise attack in Niger which killed 30 of the country’s troops in early June, its ever deadliest attack.

Defence Ministry spokesman Moustapha Ledru said 14 of the nations own troops had also died and 39 had been wounded in fighting with the Nigerian militant group over the same period.

Boko Haram is waging a war to establish an Islamist caliphate around the Lake Chad region, where Nigeria, Cameroon; Niger and Chad meet.

According to Ledru, a parallel offensive involving Nigerien forces had recaptured four towns from the Islamists, whose insurgency has killed thousands and displaced 2.4 million people.

The U.N humanitarian coordinator for the region on Friday said that tens of thousands of people are dying of hunger as a result of insecurity which has prevented farmers from tilling the lands in the region.