Chadian Soldiers Arrive In Cameroon To Battle Boko Haram

A man holds a sign that reads "Stop Boko Haram" at a rally to support Chadian troops heading to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram in Ndjamena

A contingent of soldiers from Chad has arrived in northern Cameroon where it will deploy to Nigerian border as part of efforts to curb the Boko Haram insurgency, a spokesman for Cameroon’s defense ministry said on Sunday. Reuters has more:

Boko Haram, which aims to carve out an Islamist state in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks in the region as Africa’s biggest economy prepares for a Feb. 14 presidential election.

The group has expanded its operational zone into northern Cameroon over the past year, prompting Yaounde to deploy thousands of additional forces, including elite troops, to its border with Nigeria.

A convoy of troops from Chad arrived in Maroua, the main town in Cameroon’s Far-North Region, late on Saturday, Colonel Didier Badjeck said while declining to say how many soldiers had been dispatched by N’Djamena.

“In the coming days, they will be deployed to the war zone on the border with Nigeria so that they can join our defense forces to crush and prevent incursions of Boko Haram into Cameroonian territory,” he said.