MOSCOW, January 16 (Sputnik) — Cameroon's President Paul Biya has stated that Chad plans to send troops to his country for fighting the Nigerian Boko Haram militant group, the Cameroons's government representative said in a statement.
"Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno has decided to send a substantial contingent of Chadian troops to back the Cameroonian armed forces who have faced repeated attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist sect with courage, determination and vigilance," the statement read Thursday.
The group drew international outrage after kidnapping 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in Chibok village in April 2014, physically and sexually assaulting them for refusing to convert to Islam.
Boko Haram has been most active on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, as many civilians have fled from northern Nigeria to Cameroon to escape attacks by the militant group.
In October 2014, the leaders of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Benin announced plans to step up the fight against Boko Haram with an additional battalion and a command center to tackle the group.
In late December 2014, Cameroon has carried out its first-ever airstrikes against Nigeria-based militants after the terrorist group assaulted five villages and captured a military base in the country's north.
