Chad army vehicles head for Cameroon to fight Boko Haram

[stryker]

Chad army vehicles head for Cameroon to fight Boko Haram

Dozens of Chadian tanks headed out of the capital Friday south towards Cameroon to help fight Nigeria's dreaded Boko Haram insurgents.

The convoy seen by an AFP journalist roared out of the city after Chad's parliament voted to send armed forces to Cameroon and Nigeria to fight against the Islamists.

Cameroon's President Paul Biya had announced Thursday that Chad President Idriss Deby had decided to send "a substantial contingent" of troops to help Cameroonian armed forces who have faced repeated attacks from Boko Haram.

A source close to the army said the force had begun preparing for departure on Thursday.

Earlier on Friday, Chad's parliament in N'Djamena voted 150 to 0 to send an unspecified number of "Chadian armed troops and security forces to assist Cameroonian and Nigerian soldiers waging war against the terrorists in Cameroon and Nigeria".

Boko Haram is fighting to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria along the border with Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

Cameroon has been critical of the passivity of the Nigerian authorities and the international community in the face of Boko Haram aggression.

Since Boko Haram's insurgency began, around 135,000 people have fled the restive northeast of Nigeria country and at least 850,000 have been displaced inside the region.

So far Chad has been spared, but only a narrow strip of land separate it from the Islamists' headquarters in the Nigerian state of Borno.


Source: Chad army vehicles head for Cameroon to fight Boko Haram

 

[Redheart]

This certainly is the way to fight terrorists. With Cameroon fighting Boko Haram from one side, Chad from the other and the Nigerian army from the South, this should at the very least force Boko Haram into hiding. The problem with such cowards though is that they'll use civilians as human shields. Good thing is Africa has finally got smart. They've realized that they can't depend on the West to help them. It's a good start and should they decide to cooperate more in future then maybe we'll see the end of wars in Africa.

 

[stryker]

This certainly is the way to fight terrorists. With Cameroon fighting Boko Haram from one side, Chad from the other and the Nigerian army from the South, this should at the very least force Boko Haram into hiding. The problem with such cowards though is that they'll use civilians as human shields. Good thing is Africa has finally got smart. They've realized that they can't depend on the West to help them. It's a good start and should they decide to cooperate more in future then maybe we'll see the end of wars in Africa.

I'll agree it's a good start, but I don't know about it forcing Boko Haram into going into hiding. They might have too much hardheaded meanness in them for that. Plus, with what they believe, they have no problem with losing lives in jihad. It just banks their hatred a little more. I guess it depends on how well the fighters on the three sides can fight, how prepared they all are, and how many more radicalized muslims there are waiting to join the ranks of Boko Haram in the field.
I'd hope they'd get used up, but we'll see.

 

[Redheart]

I suppose then it might take a little longer to contain the terrorist group. When hard pressed they [the terrorists] may decide to blend in with the locals and engage those fighting them in guerrilla warfare. And from then on it will be a war of attrition. The Cameroonians and Chadians when they realize they are losing their men steadily will decide to withdraw and let the Nigerians handle their problems.

 

[DancingLady]

This is really encouraging to me to see a nation in that region stand up and face Boko Haram and not let them continue to do what they have been doing uncontested.

 

[CanisLupas]

Might this drag South Africa into the fight? That could make a big difference with respect to technology, supplies and costs.