Zimpapers Logo

ABUJA. – At least 3,000 villagers have been forced to leave their homes in the Lake Chad region after a Boko Haram attack on a village near Chad’s border with Niger left at least 18 people dead.

Lake Chad governor, Mohammed Aba Salah, told Al Jazeera yesterday that the fighters also kidnapped 10 women.

“Boko Haram fighters slit the throats of two [people] and shot the other 16,” he said. “One of the 10 women abducted by Boko Haram managed to escape and return home.” Aba Salah also said that the evacuation following the attack was “a precautionary measure”.

Boko Haram is in control of the area across Lake Chad’s borders with both Niger and Nigeria, he said.

The group has devastated the region since it took up arms in 2009 in Nigeria, leaving at least 20,000 people dead, displacing more than two million others and triggering a humanitarian crisis.

Chad, Cameroon and Niger have all joined the military effort by Nigeria against Boko Haram. Chad has seen a recent increase in attacks by the group.

In May, six people were killed, including four government officials and a soldier, in a Boko Haram attack on a Chadian army checkpoint on an island in Lake Chad.

Niger’s army said on Saturday it killed “10 terrorists” after one of its military positions in the southwest of the country was attacked by Boko Haram. – Al Jazeera/News agencies