This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-31113513
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Boko Haram crisis: Chad's troops enter Nigeria | Boko Haram crisis: Chad's troops enter Nigeria |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Chadian troops have entered Nigeria to join the battle against militant Islamist group Boko Haram. | Chadian troops have entered Nigeria to join the battle against militant Islamist group Boko Haram. |
Armoured vehicles and infantry crossed a bridge from Cameroon following air strikes and mortar attacks on Boko Haram positions, officials say. | Armoured vehicles and infantry crossed a bridge from Cameroon following air strikes and mortar attacks on Boko Haram positions, officials say. |
Fighting focused on the key north-eastern town of Gamboru, Nigerian security spokesman Mike Omeri said. | |
Chad's deepening involvement shows how the conflict with Boko Haram is taking a regional dimension. | Chad's deepening involvement shows how the conflict with Boko Haram is taking a regional dimension. |
Last week, Chadian troops reportedly moved into Malumfatori, a Nigerian town which lies near the borders of Chad and Niger, after a ground and air assault against the militants. | Last week, Chadian troops reportedly moved into Malumfatori, a Nigerian town which lies near the borders of Chad and Niger, after a ground and air assault against the militants. |
Warplanes | |
Chadian forces have also massed near the town of Diffa in Niger, Reuters news agency quotes military sources in Niger as saying. | |
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to create a caliphate, incorporating parts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. | Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to create a caliphate, incorporating parts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. |
The African Union has responded by backing plans to establish a 7,500-strong regional force to fight the group. | |
The Chadian contingent of about 2,000 troops crossed the frontier without a shot being fired, AFP news agency reports from the scene. | The Chadian contingent of about 2,000 troops crossed the frontier without a shot being fired, AFP news agency reports from the scene. |
Chad warplanes had earlier carried out air strikes for about an hour. | Chad warplanes had earlier carried out air strikes for about an hour. |
'Recaptured' | |
Mr Omeri told BBC Focus on Africa that Chad's intervention signalled the "intensification" of efforts by neighbouring states to defeat Boko Haram. | |
"We should expect more cooperation, more collaboration and more coordination," he said. | |
Chadian military sources told Reuters that their troops had clashed with the militants in Gamboru, a small town separated from Cameroon by a river and used by the militants to launch cross-border raids. | |
"Our troops entered Nigeria this morning. The combat is ongoing," it quotes a source as saying. | |
On Monday, Nigeria's army said it had recaptured Gamboru, also known as Gamboru Ngala. | |
Most of its residents had fled after Boko Haram seized it last year, destroying most of the town and killing hundreds of people. | |
Nigeria's military has been widely criticised for failing to curb the six-year insurgency, which has displaced some 1.5 million people. | |
It is under increasing pressure to regain territory ahead of the 14 February presidential election, amid concerns that the insurgency will prevent many Nigerians in the north-east from voting. | |
Boko Haram controls territory the size of Belgium, mostly in Borno state, according to Associated Press news agency. | |
In April, it caused international outrage by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls from the north-eastern town of Chibok in Nigeria's Borno State. | |
Boko Haram at a glance | Boko Haram at a glance |
Why is Boko Haram so strong? | Why is Boko Haram so strong? |
Soldiers without weapons | Soldiers without weapons |