Central Africa launches regional war against Boko Haram

[undeterred]

New regional war unfolding in central Africa as Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad unite against Boko Haram – with help from France, America and Britain

By David Blair, N'Djamena12:12PM GMT 14 Feb 2015



A family gather their belongings after Nigeria's Boko Haram rebels carried out a cross-border attack on the Chadian village of Ngouboua

An MI-24 helicopter gunship, bristling with rockets, clattered over the swirling brown current of the Chari river before landing in Chad's capital, N'Djamena. Moments later, two state-of-the-art Rafale jets – the pride of the French air force – swept overhead, bound for the same airport.

This constant procession of military aircraft through the skies above Chad bears witness to a new regional war now unfolding in central Africa – and to the arms-length involvement of the leading Western powers. On the face of it, the new conflict pits the armies of four African countries against the Islamist gunmen of Boko Haram. Behind the scenes, however, France, America and Britain are all playing a supporting role. Starting on Monday, Chad will host a military exercise with special forces from 15 Western countries, including Britain.

While this annual round of war-games predates Boko Haram's insurgency, the growing threat posed by the gunmen now overshadows everything else. Once, the jihadist killing ground was restricted to the arid plains of north-eastern Nigeria, where the gunmen pillaged towns and murdered civilians. But since last year, Boko Haram fighters have also struck across Nigeria's borders into Cameroon and Niger. Last Friday, they managed to raid a village inside Chad for the first time, killing at least five people.

With these blows, Boko Haram transformed itself from a national into a regional threat. The gunmen who previously menaced northern Nigeria are now waging a cross-border war against three other countries. Chad joined the conflict last month when President Idriss Deby sent thousands of troops, backed by helicopter gunships, to fight Boko Haram in both Cameroon and Nigeria. The thinking behind this move was straightforward, said Dimouya Souapebe, the Prefect of Baga Sola, a Chadian district on the border with Nigeria that now finds itself on the front line of the struggle. "When you see you neighbour's house is on fire, you want to put it out before the flames spread to burn down your own house," he said. "That is why Chad declared war against Boko Haram."

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/11412991/Central-Africa-regional-war-launched-to-tackle-Boko-Haram.html