Suspected Local Leader of Boko Haram Arrested.

The Nation reports that a suspected local leader of Boko Haram sect was arrested and several weapons including rocket launchers seized from his home in the town of Diffa in southern Niger on Thursday, security sources said.

The town on the Nigerian border has come under attack from the militants this past week, since Chad deployed hundreds of troops to the area as part of a regional effort to tackle Boko Haram, Reuters says.

The man was identified as Kaka Bonou, a trader known to authorities for suspected involvement in trafficking of stolen goods, the security source said.

“Different weapons of all calibre including rocket launchers, were found in his house,” one of the Niger military sources told Reuters, requesting to remain anonymous.

Meanwhile, thousands of civilians fled their homes in Diffa this week, officials said, following waves of cross-border raids and suicide bombings by Boko Haram.

Niger’s military said its forces had killed 260 Boko Haram militants and had arrested others in fighting since February 6.

The International Rescue Committee, which supplied the population estimates, has teams working around Diffa and Zinder.

Matias Meier, country director, said some families in Zinder, one of the poorest regions in Niger, were hosting 20 people, while other displaced were sleeping in the stadium.

A local politician said the flow of people out of Diffa continued on Thursday even though the town was calm.

“Everyone wants to get as far from Boko Haram as possible,” the politician said, asking not to be named.

The IRC’s Meier said: “Those who went on the trucks are the lucky ones. Bus tickets are sold out until the end of next week. Many are just walking or going by bicycle.”