Niger 'winning the war' against Boko Haram – army chief

Niamey – Niger is “in the process of winning the war” against Boko Haram jihadists who have staged attacks from neighbouring Nigeria since February last year, the army chief, General Seini Garba, said on Tuesday.
Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in March, has stepped up attacks on areas of Niger, Chad and Cameroon that border Nigeria while also continuing a devastating
campaign of suicide and shooting attacks on home soil.
The group’s six-year campaign for a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has killed at least 17 000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless.
“We feel we are in the process of winning the war even though the terrorist group still has the capacity to harm,” state radio quoted Garba as saying.
“We have made tremendous efforts and we have had great results in the fight against Boko Haram,” Garba said, adding that he wanted “more success in 2016”.
Garba, however, did not expand on the results obtained in the Boko Haram fightback, but a humanitarian source said direct clashes between the group and Niger soldiers had “almost ceased”.