Nigeria, Other neighbouring Countries To Create 2,800 Strong Force To Battle Boko Haram
Nigeria together with Cameroon, Chad and Niger have pledged to speed up the creation of a 2,800-strong regional force to battle terrorist group Boko Haram.
According to BBC, Defence ministers of these countries agreed to contribute 700 troops (each) to the force.
Though Boko Haram’s insurgency is focused on Nigeria, it also has carried out some cross-border raids.
Yesterday, July 23, Boko Haram has blown up the Ngala bridge in Borno, which lies on a key transport link between north-eastern Nigeria and Cameroon, on Wednesday.
The regional defence ministers met in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Wednesday, to hold further discussions on the growing threat posed by Boko Haram.
In May, after Boko Haram caused an international outcry by abducting more than 200 Chibok girls, the four countries, whose borders meet at Lake Chad, agreed to share intelligence and coordinate border security.
On Wednesday, over 50 people were killed when two bombs exploded in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna. Boko Haram has not commented, but it is suspected to have carried out the attacks.
It launched an insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
