 |
|
Thomas Boni Yayi
of Benin
|
Countries waging a regional fight against
the Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram will take significant steps
towards establishing a joint task force when they meet on Thursday in Abuja,
Benin's president said.
Boko
Haram has killed thousands and displaced around 1.5 million people during a
six-year insurgency, seeking to establish an Islamic emirate and extending its
reach into neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.
At
start of the year, it controlled territory about the size of Belgium in
northeast Nigeria, but a loosely coordinated offensive by Nigeria's army and
troops from Chad, Cameroon and Niger has pushed it out of most of those areas.
Reuters report continues:
Nigeria's
neighbours have been urging closer coordination and the deployment of a joint
task force, headquartered in the Chadian capital N'Djamena. But diplomats say
the process has been slowed down by Nigeria's reservations about foreign troops
operating on its soil and by its presidential election in March.
Benin's
Thomas Boni Yayi said the new president, Muhammadu Buhari, was "very
determined".
"The
discussions we have had with him reassure us," he told reporters after
talks with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. "We are going to
put an end to this odious phenomenon ... This summit will be decisive."
The
defence chiefs of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin were meeting in
Abuja on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for the task force.
Benin
has not deployed any troops against Boko Haram yet, but has agreed in principle
to join the force.
Yayi
Boni said this could begin once the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution,
which has been in discussion for several months, endorsing the mission.
"These are
international rules and, once it is passed, there won't be any more
obstacles," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment