Chad and Niger troops move to attack Boko Haram
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Forces from Chad and Niger opened a new front in the regional military fight against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, as army vehicles full of soldiers crossed the border into northeast Nigeria, officials and witnesses said Monday.
The escalation in a joint military campaign against the Nigeria-based Boko Haram comes just weeks before Nigerians head to the polls for an election which many fear will turn violent, and after scores of attacks by the militants on neighboring countries who have pledged to help Nigeria defeat the extremists.
Chadian Brig. Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said Monday that his soldiers, alongside troops from Niger, had entered Nigeria. He declined to give details about the ongoing operation. Already Chadian forces had crossed into northeastern Nigeria from Cameroon to fight the jihadis, he said.
Boko Haram has been fighting a nearly six-year insurgency against the Nigerian government, and on Saturday declared their allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group in the Middle East, raising fears that conflict could be internationalized with IS fighters from North Africa. Boko Haram has carried out mass kidnappings, including of schoolgirls.
