Why Chad joined the Boko Haram fight

Origins of Chadian Engagement For many months, the President of Chad had been warning the international community about serious risks of a regional destabilisation by Boko Haram jihadists who were spreading violence in northern Nigeria.

Back then, the menace seemed to have been underestimated and even lost in the outpouring of emotions triggered by the kidnapping of hundreds of young girls in Chibok on 14th April, 2014, and the outrageous videos by the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau.

From 2014, Chad beefed up its military presence along its borders with Cameroon and Nigeria while Boko Haram was stepping up attacks in Nigeria’s northeast and northern Cameroon.

But what finally triggered Chad’s response was when the sect overran the Nigerian town of Baga early in January and sacked Nigerian soldiers who had been stationed there.

The jihadists then took over a military base meant to host a Multinational Task Force set up in 2014 by Chad, Niger and Nigeria with a mandate to fight Boko Haram.

From that moment, the sect was physically present at the Chadian border, though on the other side of Lake Chad.

Just a hundred kilometres down south, the jihadists’ incessant incursions into northern Cameroon threatened directly the Chadian Capital, N’Djamena, only some kilometres away.

Reasons for economic intervention Beyond security reasons, Boko Haram’s actions had severely impacted the economy of Chad, already affected by the crash of oil prices and the chaos in neighboring Central African Republic and Libya.

One of the central objectives for Chad intervention is therefore to free its borders and vital routes for movements of persons and goods. Insecurity in northeast Nigeria had virtually stopped, for a year and half, commerce (exportation of cattle by foot, and importations of consumable goods) to Chad.

Those exchanges used to pass through Lake Chad via big boats, but because of insecurity, the boats began taking longer routes to Niger. This, increased transportation costs which in turn affected prices of goods at home. This also led to the collapse of revenues generated by the Customs.

Farther down in the south, the Boko Haram influence was threatening to suffocate Chad. Before taking up the fight against the sect, Chad feared that Boko Haram could attack the northern Cameroonian city of Maroua.

Such a scenario would have closed the international route N’Djamena – Kousseri – Maroua, which links the Chadian capital to the Cameroonian port of Douala, from where come most of its goods that go to the southern part of the country.

• What’s the size of Chad contingent?

On 17 January, soldiers from Chad led by General Ahmat Darry Bazine, reached the Cameroonian border at the invitation of the Paul Biya, Cameroonian President.

N’Djamena has not given details about the nature of the deployment. But according to many sources, it made up of three regiments of 800 men, backed by Mi-24 helicopters and 400 vehicles, some bulletproof.

At the same time, up north, Chad has amassed troops (led by Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the President’s son) at the border with Niger and Nigeria, very close to Boko Haram bases.

According to Agence France Presse, a contingent of about 400 vehicles and army tanks, is positioned from Mamori to Bosso, two small towns in the east of Niger, which are just separated from Nigeria by a single river known as Komadougou Yobe River.

Why Did Nigeria Accept Chad Intervention? After rejecting for a long time any foreign interference, Nigerian authorities, which failed to stop Boko Haram’s military expansion, now estimate that the presence of Chadian troops in the Nigerian territory does not put into question “Nigeria’s territorial integrity”.

Contrary to Cameroon, where its own troops have been protecting Fotokol for months and have remained in their positions, Chad being member with Niger and Nigeria of a Multinational Task Force, is signatory of an agreement that allows its forces to pursue Boko Haram terrorists into the Nigerian territory.

The President of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno has stated clearly that the objective is to free the Nigerian town of Baga, which fell to Boko Haram control in January. In N’Djamena, security sources do not exclude a push to Maiduguri, Boko Haram’s old stronghold, now under multiple attacks by the Islamists.

The fight against Boko Haram becomes regional At the Addis Ababa Summit between 30 and 31 January, the African Union, in principle, agreed to send an African force of 7,500 men to fight the Jihadists.

That contingent would be made up of soldiers from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin Republic. If the deployment goes through, they will still have to finalise the strategy to fight Boko Haram, from the chain of Command to the calendar to be adopted.

Without a precise date, AU had also announced that it will seize the opportunity during the Security Council meeting at the United Nations, UN, to seek a legal backing as well as necessary resources for an effective fight on the ground. In clear language, they will seek finances from the international community.

Niger is expected to send troops to Nigeria in the near future. For that to happen, the parliament would convene on Monday, 9 January to authorise the deployment of troops to the neighbouring country.

No detail has been made public about the number of troops to expect or the date of their deployment.

Note: This article was first published by Le Monde, a French newspaper, and translated to English by Simon Ateba, Cameroonian journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria.