Force set for fight in Nigeria
With neighbors’ aid,8,750 to go; country’s election put off
YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Nigeria and its four bordering countries announced plans Saturday to deploy an 8,750-strong force by next month to combat the growing regional threat posed by Boko Haram.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s electoral commission said it is postponing presidential and legislative elections until March 28 because security forces fighting an Islamic uprising cannot guarantee voters’ safety around the country.
Details of the proposed deployment were revealed at the end of a three-day meeting in Cameroon in a statement presented by officials, including Issaka Souare, African Union adviser for Mali and the Sahel.
The plans call for Chad and Nigeria to contribute 3,500 troops each, while Cameroon and Niger would contribute 750 each, and Benin would contribute 250.
The force would be based in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.
Nigeria’s conflict with Boko Haram has taken on an increasingly regional dimension in recent months, with the extremists staging attacks in Cameroon and Niger in the past week alone.
Nearly 100 people were killed and some 500 wounded in an attack Wednesday and Thursday on the town of Fotokol in Cameroon in which Boko Haram fighters razed mosques and churches and used civilians as human shields, Cameroon officials said.
On Friday, Boko Haram attacked two towns in Niger, killing four soldiers and wounding 17.
Niger’s defense minister said 109 Boko Haram fighters were killed after Chad and Niger troops responded to that assault, though the figure could not be independently verified.
Earlier this month, African Union heads of state announced plans for a 7,500-member force to fight Boko Haram.
Officials said Saturday that the number was increased to 8,750 to allow for the inclusion of police and humanitarian officials.
Saturday’s statement said $4 million was urgently needed for the deployment, though it was unclear how this and other funding would be provided.
Jacqueline Seck Diouf, who represented the United Nations at the talks in Cameroon, said the U.N. had promised logistical support for now but added that the African Union was requesting funding.
On the delay of Nigeria’s vote, electoral commission chairman Attahiru Jega said at a news conference Saturday night that national security advisers and intelligence officers have said security forces need six weeks to conduct “a major operation” against Boko Haram and cannot also provide security for the elections.
“Many people will be very angry and annoyed,” Jega said. “I want to assure all Nigerians, no one is forcing us to make this decision, this is a very weighty decision.”
He said the commission had considered holding elections outside of the four northeastern states most affected by the uprising by Boko Haram, but decided that the likelihood of an inconclusive presidential election would be “very, very high.”
Officials in Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration had called for weeks for a postponement.
Nigerian elections traditionally are violent and several people already have died in clashes.
Some 800 people were killed in protests in the predominantly Muslim north after 2011 elections when Jonathan beat former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari.
Jonathan is a Christian from a minority tribe in the mainly Christian south. Buhari is a Muslim northerner.
Both men are facing off again and supporters of both are threatening violence if their candidate does not win this year’s contest, one that analysts say is too close to call since opposition parties for the first time formed a coalition led by Buhari.
A statement from Jonathan’s party commended the postponement but blamed it on the commission, saying it is suffering “numerous logistical problems and numerous internal challenges.”
Buhari’s coalition said it was holding an emergency meeting to discuss the implications of “this major setback for Nigerian democracy.” It appealed to all Nigerians “to remain calm and desist from violence.”