More than 250 US troops will take part in a three-week “Flintlock” training drill of soldiers from Nigeria to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.
According to a Reuters report, soldiers from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia will also take part in the drill which is taking place in N’djamena, Chad.
The training is expected to help improve intelligence-sharing, patrols, desert survival techniques, airborne operations and marksmanship.
The US-backed counter-terrorism exercise involving 1,300 soldiers from 28 African and Western countries is billed as a warm-up for a multi-pronged onslaught against Boko Haram, Reuters reports.
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The annual “Flintlock” exercises began in 2005 in an attempt to improve cross-border cooperation in Africa’s arid Sahel belt, a region prey to al Qaeda-linked and home-grown fundamentalists, separatist insurgents and criminal trafficking gangs.
“This exercise to a large extent can be considered a warm-up to enable our special forces to learn techniques in the fight against terrorism,” Chadian Brigadier General Zakaria Ngobongue said in a speech to mark the start of the exercises on Monday.
Presidents from the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) pledged on Monday to create an emergency fund for military, medical and logistical support.
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The US has indicated interest to help Nigeria in the war on terror but said it was yet to receive any official request for troops.
15 comments
Chicken finally coming home to roost…GEJ finally facing reality! With Boko Haram being fought from all fronts, Nigeria is closer to victory than ever before. But the pertinent question is: why now, when uncountable lives have been lost? And the honest answer is: incompetence. Shikena.
Its easy to mouth’incompetence’ from far away Switzerland. The clueless calling another ‘incompetent’. Shows your intellectual depth really!
Nonsense talk you think governance is easy.especially in democracy.the end justifies the means.
What competence or incompetence has the current training shown as far as the Nigerian Governmnet is concerned?. If any incompetence has been shown, it is on the part of the USA Government. NIGERIA has been sabotaged by the US refusal to sell weapons to NIGERIA for spurious “human rights violation reasons”. All this constant mouthing of cluelessness, incompetence and other social media jargon by barely educated youth is the real disaster of current discourse in NIGERIA. The Military really damaged the intellectual capacity of Nigerian youth.
The answer is it is because of Election. Not knowing that it is too late.
I am happy that at last politicians are afraid of the electorate. Incompetent governments will be voted out
Nigerians have become wiser and for that I am very happy, we elect a political leader he fails, we vote him out. Boko Haram era fast coming to an end and we are happy.
@ Chyke, critics are most atimes ten times worst than those they criticise.
On point!
GEJ will not rule, is it your Father that will rule? I think OBJ your grandfather don run away from PDP. Where he de run go I think you say GEJ de weak. We go see.
You all have valient point. Too bad Europeans stil don;t get we all came from Africa long before the contients split.
Only the naive talks about incompetence of GEJ. If you know Naija you will appreciate the fact that it is always better to look before you leap .
The electorate have a voice in Nigeria all because the president has decided not to toe the line of past president of this country(OBJ). All thanks to a true democrat(GEJ)
Nigerians are learning fast. Many have realised the campaign of calumny against gej. We can’t be fooled.
Gud