123 Boko Haram militants killed in Cameroon

Three soldiers and 123 Boko Haram militants were killed when the
Islamist group attacked a Chadian army contingent in northern
Cameroon, the Chadian military said.
Twelve soldiers were wounded in the attacks staged by the Islamists
on Thursday and Friday near the border town of Fotokol, according
to a military statement read out on national television.
Chad sent a convoy of troops and military vehicles into
neighbouring Cameroon on January 17 to deal with the growing
threat Boko Haram poses in the region.
“The enemy was repelled by our defensive forces,” the general
staff’s statement said, adding that the troops had “routed” the
Islamists in the second attack.
The soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices, the
statement said.
A senior Cameroonian security source said the Chadian troops were
deployed to the town, which sits opposite a Nigerian town under
Boko Haram control and is also close to the border with Chad, on
Wednesday.
Boko Haram frequently stages attacks on Fotokol from their base in
the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which is just 500 metres (yards)
away.
Chad has called on countries in the region to form a broad coalition
in the fight against the Islamist group. The country has already
deployed its army along its borders as well as sending the
additional contingent to Cameroon.
Chad’s president Idriss Deby has also expressed intentions of taking
back the strategic Nigerian town of Baga from Boko Haram, situated
on Lake Chad.
The African Union called on Friday for a regional five-nation force
of 7,500 troops to defeat the “horrendous” rise of Boko Haram.
“Terrorism, in particular the brutality of Boko Haram against our
people, (is) a threat to our collective safety, security and
development. This has now spread to the region beyond Nigeria and
requires a collective, effective and decisive response,” AU
commission chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a speech
opening the summit.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told African leaders that Boko
Haram was “a clear danger to national, regional and international
peace and security”.
The group’s uprising has become a regional crisis, with the four
directly affected countries — Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria —
agreeing along with Benin to boost cooperation to contain the threat
and to form a Multinational Joint Task Force.
More than 13,000 people have been killed and more than one
million made homeless by Boko Haram violence since 2009.