A.U. approves Boko Haram multinational task force

The force will be made up of 10,000 soldiers.

The war against the terrorist sect Boko Haram will in the days ahead intensify when the United Nations Security Council must have adopted a resolution and made available a special fund with which to finance the war.

The African Union (A.U.) Peace and Security Council on Friday, March 6, 2015 approved the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) created to fight the Boko Haram group that is now simultaneously attacking the Lake Chad Basin Commission members State that include Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, RFI reported. The force will have 10,000 soldiers contributed by the Lake Chad Basin member countries; Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad with Benin also included. The African Union’s endorsement of the force comes one month after the Union’s Heads of State and government in January 2015 adopted the putting in place of the force during their summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Speaking during the African Union talks, the chairperson of the African Union Commission,

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the threat posed by the Boko Haram group required a "collective, effective and decisive response", BBC quoted her as saying. She said the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) would have an initial mandate of one year. The specific mission of the Multinational Joint Task Force, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma reportedly said, would be to conduct "military operations to prevent the expansion of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups' activities and eliminate their presence".

The UN Security Council resolution that will enable the Multinational Joint Task Force go operational, from every indication, is just a matter of time considering the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon’s support to the force.

He is quoted as having declared on January 31, 2015 during the sidelines of the 24th Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa that, “I welcome the decision of the AU and regional countries to establish an MJTF (Multinational Joint Task Force) against Boko Haram.” The force is set to be based in Chad’s capital city of Ndjamena