Today in Abuja, a new report says - A new regional fighting force against Boko Haram will be headed by a Nigerian commander, the five-nation coalition agreed on Thursday agreed on Thursday, after talks on military strategy against the militants. President has made the fight against the insurgency his top priority.
In the latest sign of the need for an enhanced force against the rebels, residents said 43 people were killed in raids on three villages in Borno state in Nigeria's restive northeast.
A final communique following three days of talks in Abuja on the remit of the new 8,700-strong force backed Buhari's stance for a Nigerian to control operations "until the end of the mission".
Cameroon will take the number two role of "deputy first commander" for an initial 12 months while a Chadian will be appointed chief of staff, again for the first year, the statement said."National contingents" of troops for the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin should be deployed by July 30, it added.
The MNJTF will replace an existing ad hoc coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, which has claimed a series of successes against Boko Haram since February.
But there are hopes it will be more effective and deliver a hammer blow to the Islamic State-affiliated group, with at least 15,000 dead and more than 1.5 million made homeless since 2009.
- Rules of engagement -
Nigeria's military Nigeria's military last week announced that Major-General Tukur Buratai had taken charge of the MNJTF, which has its headquarters in Chad's capital, N'Djamena.
Source: yahoo
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