News / Nigeria

Nigeria, Chad launch joint offensive against Boko Haram

Wednesday, 22 June 2016 4:55 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 22 June 2016 5:02 AM ]

The picture taken on April 3, 2015 shows Nigerien army forces patrolling in pickup trucks near Malam Fatori after the town in northeastern Nigeria was retaken from Boko Haram by troops from Chad and Niger. © AFP

Nigerian and Chadian military forces have launched a joint military operation against Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists along the border between Niger and Nigeria.

Brigadier General Abdou Sidikou Issa, the tactical chief of staff for troops based in Niger’s troubled Diffa region, said Tuesday that the operations aim to end “the occupation of all the zones” currently seized by Boko Haram.

“Our role is to firmly secure the border,” he said.

Regional countries have created a joint military force that plays a key role in helping Nigeria fight the terrorist group.

Back in February, the four littoral nations of Lake Chad - Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon - launched a military campaign, together with a contingent from Benin, to confront the threat from Boko Haram militants in the region.

Boko Haram started its campaign of militancy in 2009 with the aim of toppling the central government in Nigeria.

The terrorist group has widened its attacks into neighboring countries, notably Cameroon and Chad, in a conflict estimated to have claimed a total 17,000 lives and forced over 2.6 million others to flee their homes.

The terrorists have kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children in their six-year campaign.

The kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from Nigeria’s northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014 unleashed a wave of international outrage.

The terror group has pledged allegiance to Daesh Takfiri terrorists, who are mainly wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq.

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