Chadian leader, Idriss Deby Itno, who once said he knew where Boko
Haram leader was hiding and demanded his surrender, is no longer sure,
he know again. “I cannot tell you today that I know
where Shekau is
hiding and even if I knew I wouldn’t tell you,” he said.
He spoke
in Abuja with newsmen after talks with Nigerian leader, Goodluck
Jonathan, during which he poured out his frustrations on the ongoing
campaign against Shekau’s forces.
Deby said the fight against
islamist Boko Haram insurgents was being hindered by failure of the two
countries’ troops to work together.
He said there were plans to
form a rapid response force for the African Union from troops of the
four countries around the Lake Chad basin – Nigeria, Chad, Niger and
Cameroon.
Deby said he was disappointed that a joint agreement with Nigeria was not working.
“It
is regrettable that the two armies, that is the Nigerian army and the
Chadian Army, are working separately in the field. If they were
operating jointly, they would have achieved more results,” President
Deby said.
Having defeated al Qaeda in Mali two years ago, Chad’s
military believes it could finish off Boko Haram alone. It has notched
up victories that have pushed the Nigerian militants back from the
Cameroonian border.
Islamist militant group Boko Haram seized
control of a swathe of northeast Nigeria last year, killing thousands in
an unprecedented land grab while increasing incursions on neighbouring
countries.
Nigeria has managed to roll back most of the group’s
gains since the start of the year with the help of offensives launched
by Chad and Niger into Nigerian territory while Cameroon has repeatedly
repelled attacks on its border towns.
Source:PM News

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