According to a resident in a Niger village who spoke to The Associated Press, Adam Boukarna, vehicles have been crossing since Saturday and the deployment was followed by loud detonations, signaling heavy combat with Boko Haram insurgents.
Chadian Brig. Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said on Monday that his soldiers, alongside troops from Niger, had entered Nigeria.
He however declined to give details about the ongoing operation.
“Already Chadian forces had crossed into northeastern Nigeria from Cameroon to fight the jihadis,” he said.
Troops from Niger and Chad launched a “ground and air” offensive against the Islamist Boko Haram group in northeastern Nigeria at the weekend.
The Chadian president, Idriss Deby, had earlier claimed that he is the one responsible for the current coordinated attacks on Boko Haram.
Over the weekend, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau reportedly pledged his sect allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group (ISIS) in the Middle East.
Boko has been waging war in Nigeria for nearly six years, attacking villages and killing innocent people. They have also been involved in mass kidnappings.
In recent months, it has launched a series of cross-border attacks on Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
After scores of attack on neigbhbouring countries, Nigeria’s neighbors decided to form a multinational army to confront Boko Haram, pledging to help Nigeria defeat the extremists.
They had to join forces with Nigeria to rout the insurgents and ever since they joined forces, the military has recovered most of the territories captured by Boko Haram.
No comments:
Post a Comment