Nigeria, neighbors set to flush out Boko Haram, deploy 8,750-strong force against insurgents

In order to contain Boko Haram menace, which is spreading in the sub-region, Nigeria and Chad have agreed to raise 7,500 soldiers in a joint anti-terrorists operation.

The pact was sealed in Abuja, weekend, at the end of a meeting of Chiefs of Defence Staff of Nigeria and Chad, Air Marshal Alex Badeh and Maj. Gen. Brahim Mahammat, respectively, and other top officers from Chad.
Briefing the media in Abuja after the meeting, CDS Badeh disclosed that the military under his command had deployed 5,000 soldiers to work with a total of between 2,000 to 2,500 forces in the coordinated action against terrorists.
Badeh put the total number of troops involved in the joint operations between federal troops and the Chadian forces at 7,500 soldiers.
The CDS stressed that the 5,000 soldiers deployed specifically to work with the Chadians were in addition to all Nigerian forces available to fight the insurgents.
According to the CDS, the Chadian troops had commenced operation from Gamboru Ngala while Nigerian troops were operating from the South with an arrangement to meet somewhere at the centre.
He said, “I want you to know that Chadian Forces in Nigerian territory are mostly in the border town of Fotokol and Gamboru Ngala on the basis of the bilateral agreement we signed with them.
“We have been working together since. They came here now to clear some grey areas; that is what we have done. We have just met as an addendum to the MoU that we signed on the January 18.
“The contribution from Cameroun, I am not very sure of that for now. The Nigerien Forces, the MOU we have with Niger, they are on their own side so that the Boko Haram or the enemies won’t have the opportunity to run into Niger to go and cause havoc there.”
Meanwhile, Boko Haram fighters have reportedly attacked a military base in eastern Niger.
Witnesses claimed that the terrorists clashed with soldiers in Bosso, a town that borders neighbouring Nigeria, but causality figure could not be confirmed.
This will be the first time the Nigeria-based insurgents would launched an assault on Niger.

Another version

Nigeria and its four bordering countries announced plans Saturday to deploy an 8,750-strong force by next month to combat the growing regional threat posed by Boko Haram.
Details of the proposed deployment were revealed at the end of a three-day meeting in Cameroon in a statement read out by officials, including Issaka Souare, African Union adviser for Mali and the Sahel.
The plans call for Chad and Nigeria to contribute 3,500 troops each, while Cameroon and Niger would contribute 750 each and Benin would contribute 250. The force would be headquartered in Chad's capital, N'Djamena.
Nigeria's conflict with Boko Haram has taken on an increasingly regional dimension in recent months, with the extremists staging attacks in Cameroon and Niger in the last week alone.
Nearly 100 people were killed and some 500 wounded in an attack on the town of Fotokol in Cameroon on Wednesday and Thursday that saw Boko Haram fighters raze mosques and churches and use civilians as human shields, Cameroon officials said.
On Friday, Boko Haram attacked two towns in Niger, killing four soldiers and wounding 17. Niger's defense minister said 109 Boko Haram fighters were killed after Chad and Niger troops responded to that assault, but the figure could not be independently verified.
Earlier this month, AU heads of state announced plans for a 7,500-member force to fight Boko Haram. Officials said Saturday that the number was increased to 8,750 to allow for the inclusion of police and humanitarian officials.
Saturday's statement said $4 million was urgently needed for the deployment, though it was unclear where this and other funding would come from.
Jacqueline Seck Diouf, who represented the U.N. at the talks in Cameroon, said the U.N. had promised logistical support for now but added that the AU was requesting funding. Further assistance would need to be approved by the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, she said.
Cameroon Defense Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o declined to discuss proposed operational details for the force.