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Suspected Boko Haram militants raid Niger village riding motorcycles, killing 16

NIAMEY, Niger – Suspected Boko Haram militants raided a village in southeastern Niger, killing 16 people and looting shops, witnesses said Thursday.

The attack occurred on Wednesday night in a village not far from the border with Nigeria, said Adam Boukarna, who runs a radio station in the nearby town of Diffa.

“The assailants arrived on motorbikes and opened fire on anything that moved before pillaging shops and other business,” Boukarna said. Multiple people were injured, including some “who were in a very bad state,” he said.

Southeast Niger borders Boko Haram’s base in northeast Nigeria, and the region has been hit multiple times by the Nigeria-based extremists. Niger is one of five countries contributing to a regional force created to wipe out Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left an estimated 20,000 dead, according to Amnesty International.

Niger is also home to more than 138,000 refugees who have fled Boko Haram’s attacks in Nigeria, according to U.N. figures.

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