Army Chief of Staff, Major General Rene Claude Meka who was assigned to the war front in the Far North Region last week, alongside Brigadier generals, Daniel Elokobi and Mahamat, has said he will lead his soldiers to attack Boko Harm in Nigeria, precisely in a territory which the terror group calls Khalifat and which they have used as a hide out each time they strike Cameroon forces.
He stated in a press conference held in Maroua after Boko Haram attacked Cameroon last weekend and in the back drop of persistent attacks by the terror group on Fotokol and Amchidé, Far North region. In the most recent attack last Saturday October 24, reports say the terror group registered enormous casualties.
The major general told reporters that his men are ready to track and kill Boko Haram wherever they are, “…on Cameroon territory and wherever we find them.” He stated that Boko Harm is no longer a terror group and that they now own a territory and clearly wants to occupy one in Cameroon. Meka stated that the insurgents now have a territory and heavy weapons and other military artillery which were abandoned to them by fleeing Nigerian soldiers and as such, do not deserve to be treated as simple terrorists.
Another military official grumbled that the terrorists have the nerves to attack on Cameroon territory and rush back to Nigeria when the heat gets too hot for them. He said, however, that until recently Cameroonian soldiers have been obliged to wait for them to reinforce and reload and strike again while they (Cameroon security forces) only react from a riposte position. “To win a war, one has to have the possibility of choosing when and where to strike” he added.
Another soldier says they waste ammunitions shooting across the border, because they are not able to evaluate the degree of harm they are inflicting on the terrorist and that the insurgents only need to study the capacity of the weapons Cameroon security forces are using and move a little further into Nigeria where they would not be hit by shots from Cameroon.
According to Lt. Col. Didier Badjeck, Chief of the Communication Division of Cameroon’s defence ministry, Nigeria has to an extent; lost sovereignty over the locality which is being occupied by Boko Haram- he called the area, a ‘grey territory.’
He regretted that Nigerian army chief of staff has not given authorisation for Cameroon security forces to chase the terrorists across the border, but stated clearly that they will begin attacking Boko Harm where they are hiding. He, however, added that the soldiers will need additional weapons which are three times stronger than what Boko Haram currently has.
