President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced that he would be deploying 300 troops in Cameroon to join the fight against Boko Haram insurgents.
In a letter addressed to Congress, Obama revealed that an advance force of 90 has already arrived the country, which is among the African nations where the militant group has been unleashing mayhem.
“These forces are equipped with weapons for the purpose of providing their own force protection and security, and they will remain in Cameroon until their support is no longer needed,” the letter read.
A boosted regional task force, with troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, has recently been launched – but it has yet to start operations in earnest because of reported funding difficulties.
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According to Amnesty International, some 17,000 people have been killed in the six-year insurgency, mainly in northern Nigeria.
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