Anti Boko Haram coalition to mobilize 8,700 strongman force

The five African countries that will form the Multinational Force against the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram have pledged to mobilize 8,700 men. In a final statement published on Saturday the 7^th of February, the experts from from Benin, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad have made pledges which totalled 8,700 military personnel, police and civilians. The figure announced before the Yaoundé meeting was 7,500.

Cameroon Concord understands a small group will work in the coming days on details of the contribution of each State and develop the initial budget for the Force. The five countries agreed that their contributions represent the different branches of the armed and civilian specialists needed to effectively implement the mandate of the Force" African fight against Boko Haram, said the statement.

The concept of operation of the force will then be forwarded to the Council for Peace and Security of the African Union for approval and submission to the UN Security Council. It is vital to include in this report that Chad has already committed its troops on two fronts: at the borders with Cameroon-Nigeria where they now control the town of Gambaru after heavy fighting with the Boko Haram militants and Niger where they supported the Niger forces during 'Boko Haram’s recent attack that came from Nigeria.