Chad and Niger have launched a joint army operation against Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria, military sources have said.
"We can confirm that Chadian and Nigerien forces launched an
offensive this morning from Niger. The offensive is under way," Colonel
Azem Bermandoa, spokesman for Chad's army, said on Sunday.
A source from the Niger government said the two countries had
launched a "ground and air" operation against Boko Haram in northeastern
Nigeria.
The offensive marks Niger's first major push into Nigerian territory
to combat Boko Haram. It had until now only defended itself against
incursions in border areas.
Chad, backed by its air force, has already sent troops many
kilometres inside northeastern Nigeria, winning back areas from the
group near the Cameroon border.
So far more than 30 towns and villages have been retaken from Boko
Haram since Chad and Niger joined efforts by Nigerian and Cameroonian
troops to fight the group.
The fresh 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).
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