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| People in south Niger are concerned with the conflict between Boko Haram and the army. |
A proverb in the Hausa language, spoken on both sides of the border between Niger andNigeria, warns: "When your neighbour's beard is on fire, fetch water and soak your own."
With conflict in Nigeria's north between the army and the Islamist militants of Boko Haram killing hundreds every month, many in southern Niger fear not enough is being done to stop it spreading.
With conflict in Nigeria's north between the army and the Islamist militants of Boko Haram killing hundreds every month, many in southern Niger fear not enough is being done to stop it spreading.
To the north, Niger is at the heart ofinternational efforts to tackle Islamist groups in the Sahara, following a French-led offensive in 2013 against al Qaeda-linked militants who occupied neighbouring northern Mali.
In the south, though, the potential spillover from Nigeria's Islamist uprising has attracted far less attention, despite 40 000 refugees flooding across the border into Niger.
Yet a growing number of incidents, including foiled kidnapping of officials, the seizure of arms and arrests of militants, suggest Boko Haram increasingly sees Niger's remote southeast not just as a rear base but as a potential target.
With oil-rich regional heavyweight Nigeria failing to quell the uprising, many fear that impoverished Niger would struggle to contain a serious attack.
"Of all the towns in Niger threatened by terrorism, we are on the frontline," said Inoussa Saouna, central government representative in Diffa, a regional capital lying on the eastern end of the 1 500 km border with Nigeria.
A dusty market town of 50,000 people, Diffa sits just 170 km north of Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's northeastern Borno state which has borne the brunt of Boko Haram's bloody campaign to impose sharia law in Africa's most populous nation.
Residents in Diffa say they are worried about infiltration by Boko Haram within the town and don't call the Nigerian group by its name to avoid drawing attention when they speak of it. Instead, they refer to its members as "Yayani", which means "my brother" in a local language, Kanouri.
"On the Nigerian side, there's virtually no state," said Saouna, warning the focus on battling Islamists in the Sahara was leaving Niger's southern flank exposed. "The day it explodes in Diffa, it'll be more serious for us than in the north."
Boko Haram has infiltrated northern Cameroon, which borders its zone of operations in the hilly
Boko Haram, whose name means 'Western education is sinful' in Hausa has had links with Islamist groups in the Sahara for several years and has dispatched fighters to train with al Qaeda's North African arm (AQIM), security officials say. It is not clear to what extent these ties continue or whether the sect has ideological interest in spreading its fight beyond Nigeria.
While its smaller splinter group Ansaru adopted the rhetoric of global jihad, Boko Haram has generally been regarded as a locally focused, grass-roots organisation.
Boko Haram has, however, infiltrated northern Cameroon, which borders its zone of operations in the hilly Gwoza area. It claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a French family there last year and uses the area as a launchpad for attacks.
In Niger, the head of the military, General Seyni Garba, said several Boko Haram members trained by militants in Mali were arrested last year after returning with weapons and orders to lie low in the southern town of Madaoua.
So far, there have been no major attacks in southern Niger, and the government in Niamey, nearly 1 400 km away, has played down the threat. Unlike its hawkish stance on Islamist activity in neighbouring Mali and Libya, Niamey's cautious approach appears to be an attempt to avoid provoking the Islamists.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram's brutal campaign of violence against authorities only sprang into life after a 2009 crackdown that killed 800 people, including the sect's founder Mohammed Yusuf.
Niger's Defence Minister Karidjo Mahamadou insisted that Boko Haram posed no imminent threat as its focus remained within Nigeria. "We will not provoke them, but if they attack, they will regret it," he told Reuters.
While its smaller splinter group Ansaru adopted the rhetoric of global jihad, Boko Haram has generally been regarded as a locally focused, grass-roots organisation.
Boko Haram has, however, infiltrated northern Cameroon, which borders its zone of operations in the hilly Gwoza area. It claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a French family there last year and uses the area as a launchpad for attacks.
In Niger, the head of the military, General Seyni Garba, said several Boko Haram members trained by militants in Mali were arrested last year after returning with weapons and orders to lie low in the southern town of Madaoua.
So far, there have been no major attacks in southern Niger, and the government in Niamey, nearly 1 400 km away, has played down the threat. Unlike its hawkish stance on Islamist activity in neighbouring Mali and Libya, Niamey's cautious approach appears to be an attempt to avoid provoking the Islamists.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram's brutal campaign of violence against authorities only sprang into life after a 2009 crackdown that killed 800 people, including the sect's founder Mohammed Yusuf.
Niger's Defence Minister Karidjo Mahamadou insisted that Boko Haram posed no imminent threat as its focus remained within Nigeria. "We will not provoke them, but if they attack, they will regret it," he told Reuters.
Signs of increasing Boko Haram activity in Niger may make confrontation difficult to avoid. General Garba said security forces had arrested several Boko Haram militants this year in the southern regions of Diffa and Zinder. Some had bomb-making material and planned to attack the market.
Saouna said the plot also involved a plan to kidnap him and the local governor in exchange for the release of members of the group jailed by Niger.
"It's just a question of time before there is a clash," said a foreign security source, who asked not to be identified. "Then Niger will be a target."
Saouna said the plot also involved a plan to kidnap him and the local governor in exchange for the release of members of the group jailed by Niger.
"It's just a question of time before there is a clash," said a foreign security source, who asked not to be identified. "Then Niger will be a target."
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