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Terrorism: A Multinational Armed Force to Fight against Boko Haram

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Lake Chad's four riparian states plan to develop "a multinational armed force" in order to fight sgainst the armed menace that is the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Quatre États riverains du lac Tchad vont mettre sur pied "une force armée multinationale" pour lutter contre la menace du groupe islamiste armé nigérian Boko Haram.

This article was translated from French. Click here to read the original from Jeune Afrique

According to an official source, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon committed, on Wednesday July 23rd, to form an "armed multinational force" composed of 700 soldiers to fight against growing threat of Boko Haram.

In mid-May, five African heads of state from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Benin met in Paris, and with Western support, adopted a "war plan" to fight against the armed Islamist group.  The plan provides for "a military presence around Lake Chad and allows intervention in case of danger".

We do not yet know if Benin will be a part of this multinational force.  "Our strength is growing:  each of the Commission du basin du lac du Chad's (CBLT) member states has deployed a contingent of 700 men to the multinational force", said Cameroonian  Chief of Defense  Mebe N'go'o Edgard Alain on Nigerien television.  The statements came after a televised interview between the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, and CBLT member army and intelligence heads, all of whom have been meeting in Niamey since Tuesday.

According to a source in the Nigerien Ministry of Defense, the chaos and intercommunal violence ridden Central African Republic, is not represented at the meeting in Niamey, and will not be providing troops to the initiative.  For the moment, the parameters of the multinational force have yet to be defined.  "The contingent will be headed by major states that will continue to eradicate insecurity", affirmed Mebe.

A "security situation without precedent"

The meeting, which ends on Wednesday, is centered on "taking concrete measures in the fight against terrorism" in CBLT member states.   Benin is not a member of CBLT, but does border Nigeria, and is thus also participating in the event.

As the meeting opened, the Nigerien minister of Defense Karidjo Mahamadou pointed out that the current "security situation is without precedent" and that it is "born out of the threat that terrorist organization Boko Haram poses to the region".  "This threat is growing larger by the day" and "if this tendency continues, the whole area could be destabilized not only at the social, but also at the political and economic level.

Cameroon has long been criticized by its neighbors for its inaction towards Boko Haram militants operating within its own borders.  Nigeria, the most concerned member of the CBLT, started cooperating with Niger and Chad, before sending elite troops to its northern border.

The President of Niger recently indicated that Boko Haram, whose bloody insurrection has already caused more than 10,000 deaths, concentrates "its operations along the banks of Lake Chad, in the northeastern part of Nigeria, a little to the southwest of Niger and south of Cameroon and Chad.

Article translated by Matthew LaLime, Staff Intern with the Africa Program at the Wilson Center

Photo Credit: United States Navy via Wikimedia Commons

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