Niger to vote on sending troops to fight Boko Haram

NIGER’S parliament will vote Monday on sending soldiers to join neighbouring countries in the fight against Nigerian radical Islamist movement Boko Haram, officials said Thursday.

“Parliament will convene as of Monday at the request of the head of state to authorise sending troops to this neighbouring country (Nigeria),” a source in the parliamentary offices told AFP.

“Niger is indeed going to send troops to Nigeria as part of the struggle against Boko Haram. The National Assembly will in principle meet on Monday to pass a resolution to this effect,” a government souce said.

Troops from Chad equipped with tanks and hundreds of other vehicles have since Monday been stationed on Niger’s territory in the Bosso region adjoining the border with Nigeria.

Nothing more than a stream, the Komadougou Yobe, marks the frontier between Niger and Nigeria, and the water level has recently dropped considerably, making crossing easy for the troops, a scurity source said.

With international support, Cameroon, Chad and Niger have become increasingly committed to the fight against Boko Haram, whose brutal attacks have killed at least 13,000 people since 2009 and displaced about one million.

Niger’s opposition will most likely back President Mahamadou Issoufou’s call to arms, a member of parliament told AFP. “We shall evaluate all this, but in principle we’re not against sending our troops.”

Boko Haram has seized control of vast tracts of northeastern Nigeria, including the strategic town of Baga in the Lake Chad region where the borders of four countries converge.

Chadian and Nigerien troops stationed at a joint military base in Baga withdrew before Boko Haram fighters seized it on January 3.

The Islamists also hold Malam Fatori and Damasak, two towns close to the Nigerien border that are considered keys to the recapture of Baga.