Niamey
– Boko Haram jihadists have attacked an army position in southeastern Niger,
sources said on Sunday, following a lull in violence since the end of last
year.

The attack on Saturday in Niger’s
Diffa region, which has been targeted since 2015 by the jihadist group, left an
unknown number of soldiers injured.

“The military base of
Chetima Wangou was attacked by heavily armed Boko Haram elements who came in
vehicles,” a local journalist told AFP.

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“There were injuries among
our soldiers who were admitted to Diffa Hospital for emergency medical treatment,”
the journalist added.

“The attack took place but
we do not have a toll,” a security source told AFP.

Chetima Wangou is a small village
about 25km southwest of the regional capital Diffa. Since 2015, the group has
targeted areas near Lake Chad, north of the city.

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The attack was the latest
ascribed to the jihadist group which began a bloody insurgency in neighbouring
Nigeria in 2009 that has spread to nearby countries, prompting a regional
military response.

In February 2019, seven Niger
soldiers were killed during an attack on the same position.

The jihadist insurgency has
killed some 27 000 people and displaced two million, sparking a dire
humanitarian crisis in the region.