Military sources said Chadian and Nigerian forces began the offensive Sunday morning in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state.
Sunday's strike marks Niger's first incursion deep into Nigerian territory; the country's troops had until now only fought Boko Haram in the border area.
Chad has already sent troops many kilometers inside northeastern Nigeria, winning back areas from the Sunni jihadist group near the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
"We can confirm that Chadian and Nigerien forces launched an offensive this morning from Niger. The offensive is underway," Colonel Azem Bermandoa, a spokesman for Chad's army, told Reuters.
A witness in Niger's southeastern town of Diffa told Reuters he saw a convoy of at least 300 vehicles, including army jeeps equipped with heavy weapons as well as water and fuel trucks, leaving barracks overnight and heading to the border.
The two nations join Cameroon and Nigerian in the fight against the group that recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Boko Haram, IS allegiance
On Saturday, Jihadist monitoring group SITE quoted Boko Haram as saying, "We announce our allegiance to the Caliph" in a video purporting to be from the Nigerian rebel group..............http://www.voanews.com/content/chad-niger-launch-joint-offenseive-against-boko-haram/2672156.html8/3/15
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L’armée tchadienne, fer de lance de la guerre contre Boko Haram au Nigeria...
ReplyDeleteL’armée tchadienne est présente sur deux fronts au Nigeria pour lutter contre Boko Haram. Après avoir entamé son offensive au nord-est du pays aux côtés des forces camerounaises, elle s’est associée dimanche aux soldats nigériens dans le Nord.
Depuis le 17 janvier, le Tchad est en première ligne au Nigeria dans la lutte contre la secte islamiste Boko Haram. Le contingent tchadien, fort de 2 500 soldats, constitue de facto la première force de la coalition régionale mise sur pied en janvier pour combattre le groupe terroriste, qui a multiplié les exactions à mesure qu’il a étendu son emprise dans le nord-est du pays le plus peuplé d’Afrique................http://www.france24.com/fr/20150309-nigeria-tchad-guerre-boko-haram-cameroun-niger-force-union-africaine-etat-islamique-ei/
9/3/15
Troops from Chad and Niger have freed two towns in northern Nigeria previously held by Boko Haram militants, the first gains made in a joint offensive launched at the weekend, Niger military sources said on Monday...
ReplyDeleteAbout 30 Nigerien and Chadian soldiers were injured in fighting over Malam Fatouri and Damasak, a day after thousands of troops crossed the border to retake areas held by the Sunni Islamist group, whose insurgency has forced Nigeria to delay an election and neighbors to mobilize their armies.
"We have kicked the enemy out of these areas and they are now under our control," one of the military sources said....