UN urges Nigeria neighbors to step up Boko Haram fight

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has urged Nigeria’s neighboring countries to step up their regional military operations against the Boko Haram Takfiri militant group.

In a statement on Thursday, the 15-member UN body called on West and Central African nations to provide further help to Nigeria in its fight against the terrorist group.

The UNSC also welcomed a three-day meeting which is underway in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, with the aim of finalizing plans to establish a 7,500-strong force from Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Benin.

The plan was endorsed by the African Union (AU) late last month and is expected to be presented to the UNSC for final approval.

The UN council also hailed the assistance extended by the Chadian army, which has deployed 2,500 soldiers to the regional force.

The council “commended the Chadian army’s swift assistance in the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria, during which territory was recaptured from Boko Haram and more than two hundred Boko Haram terrorists were neutralized and equipment was recovered, including a dozen vehicles mounted with heavy weapons.”
Earlier, the UNSC strongly condemned the Takfiri militants’ activities.

The terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of its operations in 2009, which have claimed lives of thousands of people.

According to the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, the violence fueled by Boko Haram Takfiris forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes and killed over 10,000 people in 2014 alone.