Niger Troops Say Find Mass Grave Outside Town Taken From Boko Haram

Niger military sources said on Friday that troops from Chad and Niger have discovered what appears to be a mass grave outside the northern Nigerian town of Damasak, liberated from the Islamist group Boko Haram at the weekend. The sources said investigations were underway to establish the number of bodies and that they were awaiting the arrival of Nigerian authorities to take charge of the operation. One of the military sources, who asked not to be identified, said, "Niger and Chad's troops have discovered a mass grave at Damasak, which appears to contain the bodies of Boko Haram's victims." The dusty streets of Damasak were largely deserted following its liberation on Saturday, after many inhabitants had fled the Islamists' four-month rule. Shops and businesses were looted and Boko Haram's black and white insignia were scrawled on buildings around the town.