- Title: NIGERIA-VIOLENCE/NIGER-BUHARI Nigerian Buhari pledges to 'obliterate' Boko Haram
- Date: 3rd June 2015
- Summary: NIAMEY, NIGER (JUNE 3, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** NIGERIAN PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ARRIVING AT NIGER PRESIDENTIAL PALACE VARIOUS OF BUHARI WITH NIGER PRESIDENT MAHAMADOU ISSOUFOU AND MEMBERS OF NIGERIAN DELEGATION VARIOUS OF BUHARI AND ISSOUFOU SITTING IN RECEPTION ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Haussa) NIGERIAN PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, SAYING: "I
- Embargoed: 18th June 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Niger
- Country: Niger
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9KVJSPQ93TO46FTALL3SLK7OE
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Nigeria's army will take a bigger role in the efforts to crush Boko Haram, by taking over from soldiers from Niger in occupying towns liberated from the Islamist militant group, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday (June 3).
Niger and Chad played a leading role earlier this year in driving the insurgents from towns in northeastern Nigeria including Malam Fatori and Damasak, in part because of the weakness of the Nigerian army.
"I renew my commitment to chase Boko Haram up to its last trenches, to obliterate it. Five years of the evil presence of this sect is enough. Nigerian soldiers have suffered a lot of defeats, but it's not the moment to criticise. We are going to mobilise our best to attack this sect. With neighbouring countries like the Niger but also Chad that I will visit tomorrow, we are going to sit down to refine a common strategy," Buhari told a news conference with Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou.
He was speaking during a visit to Niger, his first trip overseas since winning elections in March in Nigeria. He is expected to visit Chad on Thursday (June 4).
Buhari said Niger military positioned in Nigeria would soon be able to return home after Nigerian forces take over in four weeks.
"What we need to do, we have started with the relocation of the operational command centre to Maiduguri, so that it is more efficient. We are going to ask the heads of army of our neighbouring countries to come for a meeting, so that we can all make a fresh start. Our friend-countries, who we talked to on the phone, have told us their availability to support us, meaning Chad, Cameroon and Niger. The help that we expect will come in the form of arms but also with reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by the sect," Buhari said.
A new multinational force of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin to combat the insurgency in the Lake Chad region will become operational in the coming weeks, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said on Tuesday.
During the news conference on Wednesday he thanked Niger for hosting as many as 150,000 refugees who fled insecurity in Nigeria.
"Niger is ready to finish with Boko Haram and protect its borders, its people and their property," Issoufou said.
Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009, attacking towns and villages and killing thousands of people in pursuit of a state adhering to strict sharia law. The militants' abduction of 200 schoolgirls in April 2014 provoked outrage across the world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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