Abuja
– Nigeria on Thursday said it had launched a “massive” joint
offensive with troops from Chad and Niger against jihadists waging a
decade-long insurgency in the region.
The announcement comes after
Chad’s defence minister said on Tuesday his country had deployed forces across
its neighbours’ borders to battle insurgents who killed almost 100 Chadian
soldiers last month.
Nigeria’s military said attacks
by fighters from Boko Haram and a splinter group affiliated to the so-called
Islamic State (ISIS) group had “necessitated the contiguous nations of the
Lake Chad basin to jointly launch this massive onslaught”.
READ | Boko Haram attack kills nearly 100 Chadian troops
Details about the operation were
sketchy. Nigeria has made repeated claims in the past to have rolled back the
insurgents.
The
10-year revolt has left at least 36 000 dead and displaced around 1.8 million
people in northeast Nigeria alone.
‘Lightning response’
The
conflict has spilt over into neighbouring countries as the Islamists have
established camps and launched attacks against military and civilian targets.
The countries around Lake Chad
have set up a multinational force to counter the jihadists but it has so far
failed to end the bloodshed.
READ | 14 killed in jihadist attack on Nigeria military base
The militants on 23 March killed
at least 98 Chadian soldiers in an attack on an island army base in Lake Chad.
Chadian President Idriss Deby
Itno declared the surrounding area a “war zone” as he pledged a “lightning response” to the killings.
Chad earlier withdrew some 1 200
troops from Nigeria in January after a months-long mission battling the
jihadists.
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