Chadian soldiers ‘kill 207 Boko Haram members’

The Chadian army says its men killed 207 Boko Haram militants on Tuesday near a Nigerian town close to the border with Cameroon.

Reuters quoted the Chadian army as saying one Chadian soldier was killed while nine were injured in the clashes near Gamboru, a market town in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno.

Chad’s military also claimed to have seized large quantities of small arms and ammunition and two pick-up trucks.

Niger, Cameroon and Chad have launched a regional military campaign to help Nigeria defeat the Boko Haram insurgency.

In January, Chadian forces joined the building regional offensive against Boko Haram and soon began announcing killings of the insurgents.

In one of its heaviest raids on the sect, it announced on February 4 that it had killed more than 200 Boko Haram militants in a battle in the northeastern Nigerian towns of Gamboru and Ngala, which are near the border with Cameroon.

But nine days later, the sect launched itrst attack on Chadian soil, killing four civilians and a soldier in Ngouboua village on the shores of Lake Chad.

The African Union (AU) last month authorised the creation of the regional force, which will also include Benin.

It is also pushing for a UN Security Council mandate for the operation.