Ready for the battle

Troops from 20 African countries are training to fight terror in an exercise deep in the desert of Chad. The drills are part of new Western counter-terrorism tactics on the continent.

Down at the firing range, it is the Chadians' turn. American special forces are training them on the machine gun.

Chadian soldiers queue to lie down on a piece of cardboard, load the weapon and aim at a target around 150 metres away.

Occasionally we hear the "ding" from a bullet hitting the metallic target.

But what makes the soldiers cheer is when one of their comrades holds the trigger down, shooting several rounds at once from the automatic weapon.

This shooting session is taking place in western Chad, in a section of the Sahel region that skirts the southern edges of the Sahara Desert.

It is part of Operation Flintlock, an annual counter-terrorism exercise led by the United States and held with their Nato allies in West Africa.

This tenth edition is particularly timely. These drills are taking place against the backdrop of a region preparing to take on Boko Haram in Nigeria.

In fact, these Chadian troops may be going straight back into battle as soon as their training is over.

Chad has taken the lead in the fight against Boko Haram, having already engaged the group in neighbouring Nigeria as well as in Cameroon and Niger.

"Our biggest challenge is intelligence to allow us to fight," explains Gen Zakaria Ngobongue.

"Our means may be limited - we have to make do with our weaknesses - but if our Western partners are supporting us and accompanying us, I am sure that we will put an end to Boko Haram."