Regional troops begin Boko Haram war on Nov 1

A joint task force comprising troops from Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Republic of Benin will commence counter-terrorism operations to fight the Boko Haram insurgency along their national borders on November 1, 2014.

At the ministerial meeting of member-states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin Republic on security, which held on Monday in Abuja, the five countries agreed to establish the Multinational Joint Task Force headquarters in Baga by November 20, 2014. The meeting was attended by the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of defence of the member countries.

Reading the draft resolution after the meeting, Aminu Wali, Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, noted with deep regrets the atrocities that Boko Haram continues to perpetrate in the sub-region.

He said that the ministers agreed on the need to set up an appropriate legal framework for military operations against insurgents in the sub-region, in view of Resolution 1556 (2004) of the United Nations Security Council, which considered terrorism as the greatest threat to international peace and security.

Wali commended the pledges by the Lake Chad Basin Commission member-states and Benin Republic to deploy contingents along their common borders, saying the meeting expressed the determination to coordinate the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin.

“The ministers committed to the implementation of the decisions of the heads of state and government on the establishment of the MNJTF Headquarters by November 20, 2014,” he said.

“The ministers committed to the deployment of the pledged contingents by the LCBC member-states and Benin Republic within their national borders by November 1, 2014.”

Wali said that the meeting delegated Niger Republic to introduce the draft resolution to the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, while the Republic of Chad and Nigeria would introduce the resolution to the United Nations Security Council.

“The ministers further directed their permanent representatives in New York and their ambassadors in Addis Ababa to hold consultations with a view to ensuring the adoption of the resolution by the United Nations Security Council and African Union, respectively,” he said.