Latest news with #MultinationalJointTaskForce
Arab News
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Niger withdraws from Lake Chad military force fighting terrorist groups
NIAMEY: Niger has withdrawn from the military coalition fighting terrorist groups in the Lake Chad region of west-central Africa, saying it will focus instead on protecting its oil operations from attacks. The announcement comes amid rising tensions between the four countries bordering Lake Chad since a 2023 coup by Niger's military. In a bulletin read on state TV, the army said the operation under the Multinational Joint Task Force, active since 2015, would now be called 'Nalewa Dole' following Niger's withdrawal. The move 'reflects a stated intent to reinforce security for oil sites,' the bulletin stated, without further elaboration. The four countries that surround Lake Chad — Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — have been battling insurgencies since 2009, after a spate of violent campaigns by the Boko Haram group in Nigeria's northeast spilled into its neighbous. The ensuing conflict, which has drawn in other extremist groups, has killed over 40,000 people and displaced around two million, causing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. But since the July 2023 coup, Niger's military junta has accused Nigeria of supporting foreign forces in a bid to destabilize it, which Abuja denies. Oil infrastructure in southeast Niger meanwhile, in particular a pipeline leading from the landlocked country to Benin, regularly face attacks by armed groups. The governor of Niger's Diffa region, General Ibrahim Bagadoma, said at a regional summit in February that 'The problem is that some are making efforts, while others are undermining them. We must present a united front and end foreign regional interferences.' Late last year, Chad had threatened to withdraw from the Joint Task Force after an attack killed around 40 of its soldiers, citing an 'absence of mutualized efforts.'
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Niger withdraws from Lake Chad military force
NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger has quit an international force fighting armed Islamist groups in West Africa's Lake Chad region as it seeks to shore up security around oil assets at home, the government said in a bulletin on state television. The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which also includes soldiers from Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, has been working to stem the insurgency since 2015, but progress has been hobbled by division and poor coordination, allowing armed groups to flourish across the region's sparsely populated scrublands. MNJTF has yet to comment on Niger's withdrawal, and it is unclear how the step will affect the mission's future. The Lake Chad region has been repeatedly attacked by militant groups, including Islamic State in West Africa and Boko Haram, whose insurgency erupted in northeast Nigeria in 2009 and has killed tens of thousands of people. Last year, Chad threatened to pull out of the MNJTF after about 40 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base. And Niger has become increasingly withdrawn since a military junta overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum in 2023. Along with Burkina Faso and Mali - neighbouring states where juntas also snatched power in recent years - it withdrew from regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2024. Niger's junta, which last week announced a five-year transition to constitutional rule, has promised to restore security in the country, whose vast desert north is crossed by migrants and traffickers. But the army has little control over large parts of the country. Islamist militants killed at least 44 civilians and severely injured 13 others during an attack on a mosque in the southwest this month. Its energy infrastructure, including an oil pipeline that links the Agadem oilfield to Benin's coast, has come under attack.
Reuters
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Niger withdraws from Lake Chad military force
NIAMEY, March 30 (Reuters) - Niger has quit an international force fighting armed Islamist groups in West Africa's Lake Chad region as it seeks to shore up security around oil assets at home, the government said in a bulletin on state television. The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which also includes soldiers from Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, has been working to stem the insurgency since 2015, but progress has been hobbled by division and poor coordination, allowing armed groups to flourish across the region's sparsely populated scrublands. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. MNJTF has yet to comment on Niger's withdrawal, and it is unclear how the step will affect the mission's future. The Lake Chad region has been repeatedly attacked by militant groups, including Islamic State in West Africa and Boko Haram, whose insurgency erupted in northeast Nigeria in 2009 and has killed tens of thousands of people. Last year, Chad threatened to pull out of the MNJTF after about 40 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base. And Niger has become increasingly withdrawn since a military junta overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum in 2023. Along with Burkina Faso and Mali - neighbouring states where juntas also snatched power in recent years - it withdrew from regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2024. Niger's junta, which last week announced a five-year transition to constitutional rule, has promised to restore security in the country, whose vast desert north is crossed by migrants and traffickers. But the army has little control over large parts of the country. Islamist militants killed at least 44 civilians and severely injured 13 others during an attack on a mosque in the southwest this month. Its energy infrastructure, including an oil pipeline that links the Agadem oilfield to Benin's coast, has come under attack.
Egypt Today
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Today
Egypt condemns terrorist attack on MNJTF in Lake Chad region
CAIRO – 28 March 2025: Egypt condemned on Friday the brutal terrorist attack targeting a site of the Lake Chad Basin Commission's Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Nigerian-Cameroonian border region, which resulted in the killing of 12 Cameroonian soldiers. The Egyptian government and people express their deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the government and people of Cameroon, as well as to the families of the victims of this heinous terrorist act, wishing a swift recovery for all the injured," a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs read.
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Wetin we know about di killing of Cameroon Sojas for Nigeria
Cameroon army don confam di killing of 12 of dia sojas for Wulgo, northeastern Nigeria, for one attack by "jihadist terrorists". Dem say many odas wunjure for dis sad incident. For inside statement on Wednesday, Army tok-tok pesin Cyrille Serge Atonfack say heavily armed insurgents storm one post of di Multinational Joint Task Force on Monday night 24 March to Tuesday 25 March, near Cameroon border town of Fotokol. Di deadi body dem of those wey die for dis incident dem don send dem back home and wia dem keep dem for mortuary, while di wounded sojas dem carry dem go Chad for treatment. According to di army, dem say dem "neutralise," several jihadists although dem no give any specific number or name any group. "Di dominance of terrorist groups around di Lake Chad Basin…dey largely due to dia apparent alliance wit powerful transnational criminal entities," Capt. Atonfack tok. Reactions to di killing of Cameroon sojas Di killing of Cameroon sojas for neighbouring Nigeria don draw condemnation, condolences, and criticism within di kontri. "Diz attacks, wey dem carry out wit disturbing ease and di number dey increasingly heavy for our nation, suggest say major management problems for di military high command," na wetin opposition leader Maurice Kamto tok for statement. Im add say "troop morale, wey be di primary lever for stimulating soja bravery, no be like say na preoccupation of the high command." Football legend and incumbent President of Cameroon football federation Samuel Eto'o, describe di dead sojas as "fallen patriots" wey defend di kontri freedom and integrity. Meanwhile, U.S. Embassy for Cameroon also express solidarity wit Cameroonians, dem tag di attack on di sojas as "heinous." For more than a decade now, na im di Lake Chad Basin don dey crippled by attacks, kidnappings, and killings, mostly by jihadist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Despite di efforts of di Multinational Joint Task Force wey come from sojas from Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, Benin, and Niger, d jihadists don succeed to continuously carry out dia violent activities. Last year, Chad threaten to pull out of di collective security force, dem say e don don fail to stop insurgency around di Lake Chad Basin. Since 2009, jihadist violence for northeast Nigeria don kill 40,000 pipo and displace 2.3 million, according to UN, di conflict don spill into neighbouring kontris. Di Lake Chad region in particular -- wey stretch across Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon -- don become stronghold for jihadist stronghold, dis don affect fishing, farming and herding, wey 40 million pipo wey dey live dia dey depend on.
