Military cooperation: Cameroonian soldiers neutralizes Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria

Thanks to the cordial military cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria, some fifty Boko Haram Islamic extremists terrorist were killed in Nigeria over the weekend, according to media reports. 

Julius Mbei

Reports say a contingent of Cameroonian troops was alerted by a vigilante committee of an impending Boko Haram attack on two Cameroonian villages in the Far North region, Zigue and Ziguague last week. Following the tip off, the soldiers followed the insurgents into Nigeria under the principle of hot pursuit and killed about 50 of them. Tens of them were also rounded up by the soldiers liberating some communities in Nigerian territory that had been under the control of the terrorists.

The effectiveness and efficiency in military operations in the Lake Chad Basin has been boosted by strengthened military cooperation between forces in the region. The cooperation exists in both bilateral and multilateral spheres, the biggest of which is the joint multinational task force consisting of Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger with special assistance from Benin.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the military cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria is the MJTF is on a good footing. There is a close relation between Operation Emergence in Cameroon and Operation LAFIYA DOLE in Nigeria. Forces of sector one in Cameroon are operating alongside Operation LAFIYA DOLE in Nigeria to the extent that they sent forces into the heart of Sambisa in Nigeria recently. It in the same manner Cameroonian soldiers raided Boko Haram locations last week; independent of the MJTF. The bilateral cooperation permits them to pursue the terrorists wherever they may go.

Worthy of note is the fact that all four countries that border the Lake Chad basin have military sectors of the joint force. Sector one has its headquarters in Cameroon, Sector two in Chad, sector three in Nigeria and sector four in Niger. National forces cooperate with the joint force. There equally exist joint operations and national operations. For instance they recently had the Operation Emergence IV and Operation Alpha in Cameroon operating jointly with the MJTF. In addition to the two operations is Operation LAFIYA DOLE in Nigeria, there are also joint operations in Niger and Chad. It is thanks to this excellent cooperation that positive results have been recorded so far. It would make sense for countries to ensure that the cooperation grows from strength to strength in order to wipe out insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin and discourage creation of new armed groups.