Chad withdraws 1200 troops fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria

Chad has ended a months-long mission fighting Boko Haram in neighbouring Nigeria and withdrawn its 1,200-strong force across their common border.
The spokesman of Chadian army, Colonel Azem Bermandoa has said that it’s troops who went to aid Nigerian soldiers months ago are returning home, saying they have concluded their mission.
Bermandoa said none of the soldiers would remain in Nigeria, without specifying whether they might be replaced, following Friday’s pullout.
However, Chad’s general chief of staff General Tahir Erda Tahiro said that if countries in the region which have contributed to a multinational anti-jihadist force were in agreement, more troops will likely be sent in.
“If the states around Lake Chad agree on a new mission there will surely be another contingent redeployed on the ground,” Tahiro said.
Boko Haram began the insurrection in Nigeria a decade ago, leading to at least 35,000 deaths with violence spilling over into Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
A Boko Haram faction aligned with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) jihadists is highly active around Lake Chad where the group has training bases on the Niger border and regularly carries out raids on military bases and regional security forces.
Last month saw 14 people killed with 13 more listed as missing after an attack on a fishing village in western Chad.
Countries in the region have banded together to fight Boko Haram and ISWAP with support from civilian defence committees leading to Chad contributing 1,200 troops.
Those troops have now pulled back across the border to be “deployed in the Lake Chad region to strengthen security along the border,” a senior local official have said.
Cameroon says it is battling an upsurge in Boko Haram attacks and according to an Amnesty International report published last month 275 people, including 225 civilians, were killed there last year.

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