Niger’s Diffa reels under Boko Haram violence

Diffa, Niger / AFP

Outside the Diffa grand mosque in Niger’s southeast, two soldiers stand at the ready, rifles pointed at the wave of worshippers walking towards them.
Unbidden, the men raise their “boubous”, the traditional wide-sleeved robes worn across West Africa. They need to show they’re not hiding explosives under the tunics.
This is one of the ways that Boko Haram insurgents have changed life in Diffa, the regional capital of a territory of 600,000 people situated uncomfortably close to the border with Nigeria.
The attacks by the Nigeria-based extremists, the swarms of refugees from the violence, and government security measures to combat Boko Haram have combined also to strangle the local economy.
“There are no more customers,” said Mamane Noure Abdou, owner of a half-empty store selling peanuts and drinks. “People are afraid or have fled.” “There’s no money, no jobs, no fields (to tend), nothing,” he added, saying his profits have dropped by a third compared to 2015.
In its quest to form a hardline IS, Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless.
Extending the attacks to neighbouring countries, the group has prompted a regional military fightback involving troops from Niger, Chad and Cameroon as well as Nigeria.

State of emergency
Some 2,000 Chadian soldiers currently are set to launch a counter-offensive against the group in the region, in coordination with Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
In an effort to protect its citizens, Niger has imposed security measures in the southeast which have further slowed down the country’s economy.