Niger vows to avenge deadly raid by Boko Haram

Niger has vowed to avenge the deaths of 30 of its soldiers who were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in one of the jihadist group's deadliest attacks in the country.

A boy sits on his father’s shoulders during a protest march in Niamey against Boko Haram-related violence.

 "We must continue to fight, this insult must be expunged, there is nothing to be done, it must be avenged," Defence Minister Hassoumi Massoudou said on Sunday.

The minister was speaking to troops at a garrison at Bosso, near the Nigerian border where the deadly attack took place on Friday, according to a broadcast on state television on Monday.


It said the minister visited military positions in Bosso accompanied by army chiefs and Nigerian General Lamidi Adeosun, head of the multinational force that groups soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad to fight Boko Haram.

The minister also toured the town to view to scale of the damage caused by the Islamic insurgents, the television said. It showed images of a burnt-out military transport vehicle and a town seemingly devoid of its 20 000 residents and Nigerian refugees.

"It's terrible, all of Niger is crying," said Massoudou, adding that he felt "deeply wounded" after visiting the site of the bloodshed. The attack "will unfortunately be engraved on the history of our people".

He urged the troops to keep their "morale high" as "we will win this war".