The armies of Niger and Chad have launched a “ground and
air” offensive against the Boko Haram armed group in
northeastern Nigeria, a source from the Niger government
said.
“An offensive is under way against Boko Haram,” the
source told AFP news agency. “Very early [on Sunday]
morning, the troops from Niger and Chad began an
offensive against Boko Haram… in the area of Bosso and
near to Diram.”
A resident of Diffa, located in Niger near the Nigerian
border, told AFP he saw troops headed toward the frontier
early Sunday followed by the sounds of heavy arms fire.
“After some time, the detonations grew further away, an
apparent sign that the troops were moving inside Nigeria,”
he said.
Privately owned radio station Anfani, based in Diffa,
reported more than 200 vehicles, including those equipped
with machine guns as well as tanks, ambulances, water
tankers and transport trucks, in a convoy moving toward
the Nigerian border.
It also reported that aircraft had targeted Boko Haram
positions on Saturday and early Sunday.
An aid worker told AFP heavy arms fire was coming from
the direction of the Doutchi bridge connecting Niger to
Nigeria on Sunday morning.
The offensive comes after the African Union on Friday
endorsed the creation of a regional force of up to 10,000
men to join the fight against the group which on
Saturday pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL).
The force, the idea for which was adopted at an AU summit
in January, will be based in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, the
pan-African bloc’s Peace and Security Council said.
It will be mandated “to prevent the spread of Boko Haram
activities and other terrorist groups” and “eradicate their
presence”, the body agreed in a meeting earlier week.
Diplomats said Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Benin
had committed to providing troops, who would “operate
freely” in a still-undefined region.
On Saturday, at least 51 people were killed and more than
100 injured in three bombingsin the northeastern Nigerian
town of Maiduguri.
Saturday’s triple blasts were the worst attack on the city
since suspected Boko Haram fighters failed in their bid to
seize it at the end of January.

www.punchng.com/news/chad-niger-launch-offensive-against-boko-haram/

again! well am not surprised as GEJ is more at home with militants and dissidents ....OPC...MASSOB and the Niger Delta bois...