Chad sends troops to Niger to counterattack Boko Haram

Chad has sent troops to neighbouring country Niger to help fight Boko Haram.

The country sent 2000 troops on Tuesday to aid prepare a counterattack in the Nigerien town of Bosso.

The troops’ agenda is to flush out the insurgent group in Eastern Niger after they took over the town in a deadly clash over the weekend.

Nigerien president Mahamadou Issoufou said, “We are determined to avenge the death of our soldiers. That’s what we’ll do. We will organise ourselves accordingly in order to assure a final victory against this organisation.”

About 30 Niger soldiers were killed in the clashes including two Nigerian soldiers.

The attack which occurred on Friday was the deadliest in Niger’s soil following another attack in April 2015 that left more than 70 people dead.

“We need to ensure that our troops occupy the area and that we do not leave any open land to Boko Haram, whatever the case may be. This is a commitment. Since Boko Haram acts within their means, we must act with what we have. We can do it. I think we can at least protect our populations and territories,” said Chadian President, Idriss Deby.

The UN refugee agency says that an estimated 50,000 people had fled Boko Haram attacks in the region.

Earlier in the week, an amateur video was released showing the Nigerian based Islamist group fighting with Niger troops.

According to the United Nations, more than 30 attacks have been attributed to the militants in the region this year.

Even so, Niger has made efforts in tackling insecurity to counter the risk of Islamist incursions from its neighbours.

Alongside its neighbouring countries Cameroon, Nigeria and Benin, Niger has contributed troops to a 9,000-strong regional task force dedicated to fighting the group.

“There have been many summits, many meetings, and we also created a joint multinational task force that was not operational, so we have been put in this situation due to the logical result of a number of failures. I think it’s necessary and important. We have also spoken to the two commanders of the joint multinational task force who are here,” explained Deby in regards to the task force.

The insurgent group has launched cross-border attacks.

Over 2 million people have been displaced and thousands have been killed during the group’s seven-year insurgency.

Boko Haram seeks to establish an Islamic state adhering to strict Sharia law.