Leaders of Nigeria and its neighbouring countries met in Niger, on Tuesday, for talks to finalise a multi-national force to fight Boko Haram Islamist militants.
President Goodluck Jonathan; Niger President, Mahamadou Issoufou; Idriss Deby from Chad and Thomas Boni Yayi from the Republic of Benin, gathered in Niamey, Niger capital, to discuss joint military action against the militants.
Cameroon, Nigeria’s southeastern neighbour, which has experienced a number of incursions by the group in recent months, was represented by its foreign minister.
In July, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon each pledged 700 soldiers to create a multi-national force to fight the Nigeria-based group, which had killed more than 10,000 people since 2009.
“After gaining independence, the survival of our countries has never been so threatened by the menace of terrorism, by the forces of division and by organised crime,” Issoufou said.
The militants are thought to be in control of more than two dozen towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria, though the military had struggled to retake all lost ground.
