The President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, called on Nigeria to help build a regional task force to tackle insecurity in the Sahel. Nigeria's neighbours, Niger and Burkina Faso, constantly fight rebels allied with Islamic State and Al-Qaeda who plunder their territories.
Nigeria is experienced in creating such forces. Its government established a Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) in the Lake Chad region to fight Boko Haram fighters. The organization includes Nigerian and Chadian troops.
"We want to replicate this model in the Sahel countries," Bazoum said in a statement issued after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja. Why? Because this model has enabled us to address the common threat in the Lake Chad Basin. If Nigeria, Africa's largest economic and regional power, helped organize a similar model for the Sahel, it would ease the financial burden of fighting the militants".
Niger is taking the initiative to negotiate with jihadists attacking the country's southwest in fear of a new wave of bloodshed. The impoverished Sahel nation is worried about a new attack in the Tillaberi region since France announced its troops would leave neighbouring Mali.
Tillaberi is in the "Three Borders" crisis zone of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, home to jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). According to AFP, more than 2,000 people have died in neighbouring Burkina Faso, while the country's rescue agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes since the 2015 uprising. Being one of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso is poorly equipped and insufficiently trained to deal with the more mobile and determined jihadist forces.
Categories: Politics, Social Issues
Tags: Sahel, Niger, Nigeria, Bazoum
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