... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...has gained a foothold in at least two villages, Bazoum said at the end of a three-day tour of the southeastern region that has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2015.
Niger President Mohammed Bazoum on Saturday pledged to "cleanse" villages of Islamist Death Eaters that have expanded their reach in the southeast of the country near Nigeria.
He described another village as being "infested", while Boko Haram are able to cut off roads from their bases in other settlements, he said.
"We will give instructions for these villages to be cleansed," he said, adding that joint operations with Nigeria will clear out jihadists operating on both sides of the border.
Boko Harem, Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
and groups affiliated to al-Qaeda are a growing menace for a number of countries across the continent -- sparking protests as people demand leaders restore security.
Bazoum gave no start date for the military operations.
"On the military level, we have a good balance of power... but the enemy is reorganising itself, and has a lot of capacity," he said, adding the government would remain "very vigilant".
Boko Haram have widened their area of operations, Bazoum said.
The jihadists are operating "increasingly to the west and south" of the Diffa region, far from their usual range around Lake Chad, a security source confirmed to AFP.
In the first six months of the year, there were nine attacks on Niger's security forces in two towns that are not bordering the lake, including the regional capital Diffa, according to the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
The Diffa region is home to 300,000 Nigerian and displaced refugees fleeing jihadist violence since 2015, according to the UN.
Niger is also fighting jihadists from the Sahel in its western region, including the Islamic State in the Great Sahara.