By Balima Boureima
NIAMEY
Following a meeting in Nigerien capital Niamey, five African nations have agreed to form a "joint force" to combat the threat of Nigeria's Boko Haram militant group.
Leaders of Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Benin and Cameroon agreed to "finalize the deployment of the quota promised by Lake Chad Basin Commission member-states for the joint force as of November 1," read a communiqué released at the end of a commission summit in Niamey.
The meeting was attended by Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Chadian President Idriss Deby and Cameroonian Defense Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o. Benin's president, Yayi Boni, also attended the event as a special guest.
In May, the five countries agreed to deploy a joint force composed of some 700 troops as part of a wider strategy for combating Boko Haram.
In the final communiqué, leaders voiced their regret over "the continued atrocious acts of terror [committed] by Boko Haram against the people and security forces in Nigeria and neighboring countries."
The communiqué also urged ministers of foreign affairs and defense from the five countries to convene immediately "to prepare a draft resolution to be submitted to the U.N. Security Council and the African Union to establish a legal framework for the fight against Boko Haram."
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in Nigeria's local Hausa language, first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption.
It later became violent, however, after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.
In the five years since, the shadowy sect has been blamed for numerous attacks – on places of worship and government institutions – and thousands of deaths in Nigeria.
The group has also been blamed for several previous cross-border attacks in Cameroon.
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