Chadian army's mission to end in 2017

The Chadian forces deployed to Cameroon since mid-January will lead their mission of reinforcement in the national army for the fight against the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram until 2017, Xinhua learnt on Friday from Cameroonian military sources.

With a 2,500 coalition, these troops have helped with the establishment of a regional coalition in addition to Cameroon and Niger, neighbouring countries of Nigeria hit by Boko Haram activities. They served under a military operation that seeks to reduce the resumption of control of some areas in Nigeria and curb the influence of the Islamist sect.

Since the last days, these forces share the positions occupied by the Cameroon army, including mainly the rapid battalion intervention (BIR, a special force) along the Nigerian border in the far north of the country, according to Cameroonian military sources.

This joint operative expanded in Niger represents a kind of embryo of regional force of 10,000 men in the process of operationalization by the African Union (AU) under the mandate of the United Nations, a folder that will be on the menu for a Summit of Heads of State of Central Africa and the West, April 8 in Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.