20 Boko Haram members surrender in Niger

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20 Boko Haram members surrender in Niger

About 20 more members of the jihadist group, Boko Haram have surrendered in Niger, the government said.

No fewer than 50 Boko Haram fighters have surrendered arms since December 27 in Niger.

The country’s interior minister, Bazoum Mohamed said this in an interview broadcast late Wednesday on the state TV channel Tele Sahel.

He said “in some sectors, the war (against Boko Haram) is already over.”

But he warned that “organised Boko Haram elements are training” in the marshes of Lake Chad, a zone that straddles the three countries.

Three Niger soldiers were killed and seven wounded on the night of New Year’s Eve when Boko Haram fighters attacked their position at Baroua, in the Diffa region, the military say.

Fifteen assailants were killed and another one was captured.

Boko Haram is waging a seven-year-old uprising against the Nigerian state that has claimed more than 20,000 lives, with the insurgency spilling over the West African nation’s borders into neighbouring states.