Buhari in Cameroon to discuss Boko Haram fight
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in neighbouring
Cameroon on Wednesday for talks on how to combat the escalating regional threat
from Boko Haram Islamists.
Security was tight for the 24-hour visit, after a surge of
Boko Haram violence in Cameroon including an unprecedented series of five
suicide bombings in the far north, reports AFP.
Presidential guard soldiers were posted on rooftops of
houses and along the route from the airport to the presidential palace in
Yaounde, while vehicles armed with machine-guns patrolled the streets and
access to the hotel where Buhari will stay was blocked.
The trip comes a day after Nigeria vowed that a new regional
force tasked with fighting the jihadists would go into action soon.
Nigeria's presidency said Buhari's talks with Cameroonian
President Paul Biya were part of his "ongoing effort to build a more
effective regional coalition against Boko Haram".
Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since Buhari took
office in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just
two months.
The Nigerian president has already visited neighbouring Chad
and Niger, which have also suffered from attacks by the Islamist fighters.
Nigerian military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade
said on Tuesday that the new regional force would be operational "any
moment from now", without giving a specific date.
The 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing in
Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to be more effective than
the current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram's six-year insurgency that
has claimed some 15,000 lives.
Cameroon itself also announced Tuesday it would be sending
2,000 more troops to the north to take on Boko Haram.
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