The African Union has called for a regional five-nation force of 7,500 troops to defeat the “horrendous” rise of the Nigerian armed group Boko Haram, AU Commission Chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has said.
The statement on Friday came after Boko Haram increased cross border raids in recent weeks, in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Chad, as it continued to take over more territory in Nigeria.
“Boko Haram’s horrendous abuses, unspeakable cruelty, total disregard for human lives, and wanton destruction of property are unmatched,” Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement after the bloc’s Peace and Security Council met late Thursday, ahead of a full AU summit meeting on Friday.
The Boko Haram uprising has become a regional crisis, with the four directly affected countries – Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria – agreeing along with Benin to boost cooperation to contain the threat and to form a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
“I am deeply concerned by the prevailing situation as a result of Boko Haram terrorist activities, including the recent escalation of violence witnessed on the ground,” Dlamini-Zuma said after the meeting at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, where the two-day annual summit of the 54-nation bloc is slated to be held.
“The continued attacks in northeastern Nigeria and the increasing attacks in the Lake Chad Basin, along the border with Chad and Cameroon, and in the northern provinces of that country, have the potential of destabilising the entire region, with far-reaching security and humanitarian consequences.”
More than 13,000 people have been killed and about one million made homeless by Boko Haram violence since 2009.
Regional nations pledged earlier this month to commit a battalion each to the force, a total of some 3,000 troops, but Dlamini-Zuma said after meetings
‘Continental problem’
Chad’s President Idriss Deby, who earlier this month sent a convoy of troops and 400 military vehicles into neighbouring Cameroon to fight Boko Haram, said action had to be taken.
“We have seen too many meetings and no concrete action,” Deby said.
“Today, there are four countries affected by Boko Haram, but tomorrow it may be a continental problem.”
Nigeria has the largest army in west Africa but has come under criticism at home and abroad for failing to stop the advance of Boko Haram.
Earlier this month Nigerian security officials ruled out the need for a United Nations or African Union-backed force to fight Boko Haram, saying the country and its partners could handle the threat.
But international pressure has ramped up, with a top US military commander General David Rodriguez, head of US Africa Command, warning this week that tackling Boko Haram will need a “huge” international effort.
Source: Al Jazeera
Witnesses and some media reports said troops and airforce planes from neighbouring Chad were involved in the operation on Nigerian soil but Abuja neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
There was no initial word on casualties or whether Boko Haram fighters had fled the area.
“Malam Fatori is within the area of operation covered by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) of which Chad has always been a part,” defence spokesman Chris Olukolade told AFP in a text message.
“The Nigerian airforce has also been conducting (an) air mission there for two days now,” he added. “It is all part of the ongoing efforts against terrorism.”
The MNJTF was set up more than a decade ago to combat smuggling in the remote region but as the Nigerian Islamist insurgency in the area intensified, the mandate of the force changed.
Residents in the town of Bosso, which lies next to Malam Fatori but across the border in Niger, said the bombardment began early on Wednesday and lasted for several hours.
“At around 8:00 am (0700 GMT) we started seeing three military jets encircling Malam Fatori and soon after (they) began dropping bombs,” said Idrissa Ari, a Bosso resident.
Reaching locals inside Malam Fatori is difficult given the collapse of the mobile phone network on the Nigerian side of the border.
The authorities in N’Djamena did not respond to requests seeking comment on their alleged involvement in the operation.
The Boko Haram uprising has become a regional crisis, with the four directly affected countries — Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — agreeing to boost cooperation to contain the threat.
The African Union’s annual summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is this week expected to focus heavily on the threat from Boko Haram.
AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has called the insurgency “a threat to the whole continent”.
– Chadian troops in Cameroon –
A brutal attack this month on the Nigerian town of Baga, near Chad and Niger, killed several hundred people and raised fresh questions about the Nigerian military’s capacity to face Boko Haram alone.
An aerial bombardment inside Nigeria by the Chadian airforce, if confirmed, would mark a major development in bilateral security cooperation.
While it was unclear whether Chadian troops had begun operating in Nigeria, security sources said soldiers from Chad had arrived in Cameroon ahead of an expected campaign against the Islamists.
“The first Chadian soldiers were deployed yesterday (Wednesday) in Fotokol,” a Cameroonian security source told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Fotokol is just 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the Nigerian town of Gamboru, currently controlled by Boko Haram.
A senior Cameroonian officer said the deployment was part of “preliminary action” for the Chadian army to take on Boko Haram alongside troops from Yaounde.
The insurgents control large parts of Nigeria’s Borno state, which shares borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Meanwhile, local sources in three areas of Cameroon’s far north reported that 10 people had their throats slit by suspected Boko Haram militants this week.
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/nigeria-fighter-jets-bomb-town-held-boko-haram-military/#sthash.xjKbote1.dpuf
Witnesses and some media reports said troops and airforce planes from neighbouring Chad were involved in the operation on Nigerian soil but Abuja neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
There was no initial word on casualties or whether Boko Haram fighters had fled the area.
“Malam Fatori is within the area of operation covered by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) of which Chad has always been a part,” defence spokesman Chris Olukolade told AFP in a text message.
“The Nigerian airforce has also been conducting (an) air mission there for two days now,” he added. “It is all part of the ongoing efforts against terrorism.”
The MNJTF was set up more than a decade ago to combat smuggling in the remote region but as the Nigerian Islamist insurgency in the area intensified, the mandate of the force changed.
Residents in the town of Bosso, which lies next to Malam Fatori but across the border in Niger, said the bombardment began early on Wednesday and lasted for several hours.
“At around 8:00 am (0700 GMT) we started seeing three military jets encircling Malam Fatori and soon after (they) began dropping bombs,” said Idrissa Ari, a Bosso resident.
Reaching locals inside Malam Fatori is difficult given the collapse of the mobile phone network on the Nigerian side of the border.
The authorities in N’Djamena did not respond to requests seeking comment on their alleged involvement in the operation.
The Boko Haram uprising has become a regional crisis, with the four directly affected countries — Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — agreeing to boost cooperation to contain the threat.
The African Union’s annual summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is this week expected to focus heavily on the threat from Boko Haram.
AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has called the insurgency “a threat to the whole continent”.
– Chadian troops in Cameroon –
A brutal attack this month on the Nigerian town of Baga, near Chad and Niger, killed several hundred people and raised fresh questions about the Nigerian military’s capacity to face Boko Haram alone.
An aerial bombardment inside Nigeria by the Chadian airforce, if confirmed, would mark a major development in bilateral security cooperation.
While it was unclear whether Chadian troops had begun operating in Nigeria, security sources said soldiers from Chad had arrived in Cameroon ahead of an expected campaign against the Islamists.
“The first Chadian soldiers were deployed yesterday (Wednesday) in Fotokol,” a Cameroonian security source told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Fotokol is just 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the Nigerian town of Gamboru, currently controlled by Boko Haram.
A senior Cameroonian officer said the deployment was part of “preliminary action” for the Chadian army to take on Boko Haram alongside troops from Yaounde.
The insurgents control large parts of Nigeria’s Borno state, which shares borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Meanwhile, local sources in three areas of Cameroon’s far north reported that 10 people had their throats slit by suspected Boko Haram militants this week.
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/nigeria-fighter-jets-bomb-town-held-boko-haram-military/#sthash.xjKbote1.dpuf
