Chad, a neighbour to Nigeria has been under attack from Boko Haram for a while
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Lake Chad, a region bordering Nigeria, has recently seen brutal bombings and shootings in recent times from the Islamist militancy group. Chad has played a vital role in Nigeria’s attempts to free north-eastern portions of the country from the Boko Haram stronghold and these attacks are seen by analysts as acts of aggression against the same. After these considerations, Chadian ministers have decided that a cautious amount of control needs to be kept on the people’s movements to ensure safety of civilians.
This decision was put into order after at least two civilians were left dead in an alleged Boko Haram bomb attack, while three Nigerian refugees were killed in the northern parts of Cameroon. These are said to be only two attacks out of the several others that have taken place in the course of only the last two months. Hence, the authorities see fit that they be given the power to impose bans on daily movements of vehicles and people, to search private homes and to recover illegally placed arms, decided in a cabinet meeting of importance.
Moreover, stuck in a Chad-like situations are other neighbouring countries of Niger and Cameroon, also buckling under intensified militant action from Boko Haram base in northern Nigeria. With this in mind, the four countries, along with Benin, have recently been occupied with the formation of a special fighter force to counter the Islamist group. The 8,700-strong force, although already organized has not been able to carry put many operations because of financial discrepancies.
The Boko Haram, that came into power in 2009, is responsible for the killing of nearly 17,000 people, a majority of civilians, in its effort to establish Islamic rule in Nigeria . It is also known to be working in conjunction with the Islamic State in the Middle East, calling itself the IS’ ‘West African province’. Militancy that initially set out in opposition of Western-style education, has now joined a world-wide war of Islamist extremism.
Source: BBC
Tags: Boko Haram Lake Chad Nigeria
