Nigeria, Chad vow to battle terrorism

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, February 7, 2015
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Military leaders from Nigeria and Chad have vowed to work together to stamp out terrorism, which appears to be trying to establish a foothold around the two nations.

Visiting Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) of Chad Republic, Maj.- Gen. Mahamat Ibrahim and his Nigerian counterpart, Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Badeh, who made this known reaffirmed their commitment to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the sub-region.

Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Friday, the Nigerian capital, Badeh said several meetings had been held under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission toward eradicating the insurgency.

He said the meeting with the Chadian CDS was a follow-up to the discussion that he and the Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria held in Ndjamena on Jan. 18, 2014, where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed.

"And we have just made an addendum to the MoU that we signed on Jan. 18. And as a result of the bilateral agreement we had, we are already seeing the benefits of the agreement," the Nigerian military chief added.

Badeh said Chaidian soldiers were working around Fotokol, Gamboru Ngala, while Nigerian troops were operating from the southern part, so that both forces "could meet somewhere in the middle and finish this once and for all".

The Nigerian defense chef told reporters that he was aware that Chad was bringing about 2,500 soldiers, and Nigeria is taking all its forces, but specifically to work with Chadian forces, we have 5,000.

Earlier, the CDS of Chad Republic, said the visit was to discuss the issue of Boko Haram with their Nigerian colleagues.

Ibrahim said the discussion would be on how the two countries would coordinate and work together to defeat the insurgents.

Nigerian and Chadian aircrafts have been bombing Boko Haram hideouts since Monday.

No fewer than 2,000 Chadian soldiers were stationed this week along the Nigeria-Cameroon border after the AU agreed on January 31 to send 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has killed over 13,000 people since 2009 in northern Nigeria under the pretext of trying to establish an Islamist state.

The insurgents control about 130 villages and towns in northern Nigeria, a territory the size of Belgium, and have sparked fears of regional instability. Endi

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