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Nigeria arrests mercenaries in effort against Islamic Militants
Nigeria has arrested 200 people, mostly Chadian “mercenaries,” after last week’s attacks in the north, a police source said Thursday, as pressure mounts on the security forces to stem the violence.
Coordinated gun and bomb attacks in the northern city of Kano last Friday killed at least 185 people, the deadliest ever assault claimed by the shadowy Islamist sect Boko Haram.
They have been blamed for scores of other attacks across northern Nigeria.
“Many arrests have been made since the attacks,” the police source said on condition of anonymity.
“We have arrested around 200 attackers and 80 percent of them are Chadians. They came in as mercenaries.”
There were indications the Chadians had been paid to participate in the recent attacks attributed to Boko Haram, the source added.
Nigerian security forces have long suspected Boko Haram of smuggling arms into the country through the porous northeastern border with Chad and Niger.
