AU chief urges joint African effort against Boko Haram
The African Union chief has called on the continent’s states to act swiftly and collectively to contain the rising threat of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists.
During a Monday speech before African foreign ministers at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma described recent attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state as deeply horrifying, saying that AU heads of state had agreed to include the Nigerian unrest on the agenda of their Friday summit.
She further cautioned that cross-border raids into neighboring Cameroon demonstrated the dangers posed by the Boko Haram terror elements.
The development comes as Nigeria has rejected any intervention by the AU or the United Nations, insisting that regional military forces are capable of countering the terrorist threat.
The Nigerian military forces thwarted a fresh assault by the Takfiri terror group on the major northeastern city of Maiduguri on Sunday night.
According to local press reports, Boko Haram will dominate the upcoming AU summit, which was originally set to focus on development and women's empowerment.
The Takfiri militants launched a full-scale insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009.
On Sunday, the terrorist group captured the northeastern Nigerian town of Monguno, leading to additional concerns on whether it would be possible to hold the upcoming presidential elections across the country on February 14.
Boko Haram currently remains in control of many towns and villages in the Borno state as its capital of Maiduguri is regarded as an ultimate target for the group.
According to Nigerian authorities, the Takfiri insurgency in the country has led to a humanitarian disaster affecting nearly three million people across the country.
Niger and Algeria have announced a joint effort to deal with the growing threat posed by militant groups across the Sahel region.
"We have agreed to mobilize and pool our operational capabilities and intelligence to deal with terrorist threats and criminal organizations," Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou announced on Monday following a meeting in Algiers with his Algerian counterpart, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Issoufou further stated that "Algeria and Niger share a 1,000-kilometer border and have large desert areas that need securing."
The two leaders also discussed the persisting crisis in neighboring Libya, which has been ravaged by fierce fighting between troops loyal to the internationally recognized government and various militias.
MFB/NT/AS
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