Niger Bans Full Veil

Authorities in Niger’s Diffa area, on the border with
Nigeria, have banned the full Islamic veil following
suicide attacks in countries in the region by
women wearing the religious garment, an official
said Wednesday.

“Women in the region are forbidden from wearing
the full veil until further notice, in order to prevent
suicide attacks by Boko Haram,” Diffa mayor
Hankouraou Biri-Kassoum told AFP.

The full veil has been banned in several regions of
Cameroon after a string of bombings by women
and girls, including attackers wearing the garment.
“It’s better to prevent danger,” a security source
told AFP, adding that “a growing number of women
and young girls are wearing the full veil in Diffa.”
A night-time curfew has been imposed, while
February’s ban on motorcycles — the jihadists’
vehicle of choice — has been extended, the mayor
said.

Niger has joined a regional campaign alongside
Chad, Niger and Nigeria to battle Boko Haram,
whose insurgency has killed at least 15,000 people
since 2009 in the name of founding an Islamic
caliphate.

While regional efforts have scored a number of
victories in recent months, the militants have
unleashed a massive wave of violence since
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn
in in May.

Dozens have been killed in a string of bombings
and raids across the region.
On July 12, the Islamists raided Diffa prison in a
likely bid to free detained members, killing a
guard, according to local authorities.
Six days later, Boko Haram militants killed 16
civilians in an attack on a southeastern Niger
village.

In June, 38 civilians were killed — including 10
children — in a Boko Haram attack targeting two
villages close to Diffa.
(AFP)