Niger's parliament has voted to send troops to Nigeria to
join the fight against militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
The vote took place after Boko Haram attacked a prison and
detonated a car bomb on Monday in the town of Diffa, near Niger's border with
Nigeria.
MPs said parliament unanimously authorised deploying 750
soldiers with a regional force battling Boko Haram.
The Boko Haram has increasingly drawn in Nigeria's
neighbours.
On Saturday Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin agreed
to establish a 7,800-strong force to fight the group.
Boko Haram launched its first attacks in Niger last week,
and has vowed to create an Islamic state.
'Motorcycles banned'
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou, a Muslim, vowed to
defeat Boko Haram.
"All the Nigeriens know that these guys are not
Muslims. On the contrary, what they are doing is not helping Islam," he
said.
Chad has already deployed troops to Nigeria.
The conflict is said to have displaced at least 3.2 million
people in Nigeria
The BBC's Baro Arzika in the capital, Niamey, says many
people are concerned about the growing threat posed by Boko Haram.
The authorities have imposed an overnight curfew in Diffa
and have banned the use of motorcycles, a common mode of transport, to prevent
infiltration by the militants, he says.
A journalist in Diffa told AFP news agency that at least one
person was killed and 15 wounded in Monday's bomb blast at a market.
Suspected Boko Haram militants also hijacked a bus in
northern Cameroon, abducting at least 20 people, residents said.
The bus was seized near the border area of Koza and driven
towards the border with Nigeria, some 18km (11 miles) away, a resident told the
Associated Press news agency.
The conflict has forced a postponement of Nigeria's presidential
and parliamentary elections from 14 February to 28 March.
At least 3.2 million people have been displaced by the
insurgency, launched in north-eastern Nigeria in 2009, Nigerian officials say.
Credit to BBC
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