Roundup: Cameroon, Nigeria vow to battle Boko Haram

Cameroon's President Paul Biya and his visiting Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday agreed to collaborate to end the threat posed by Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram.

Cameroon and Nigeria are both members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), comprised also of Chad, Niger and Libya, which is seeking to operationalize a regional force to fight against Boko Haram.

On Wednesday morning, Buhari began a two-day "official and working visit" to Yaounde, four months since being elected.

The eagerly awaited visit by Yaounde authorities was dominated by talks on Boko Haram, a group that launched attacks in Cameroon's Far North in 2013.

"We should not allow this terrorist group to prosper. We should work together, unite our forces and share experiences," Biya said during a special dinner organized in honour of his guest.

Besides taking hostages and killing the population, Boko Haram has created insecurity and socioeconomic instability in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

"Terrorism is a global threat and only a global response will help to eliminate it," the Cameroonian president said.

A few months ago, LCBC countries were joined by Benin in a meeting held in Yaounde and agreed to set up a regional force comprised of 8,700 soldiers, with the possibility of increasing the number to 10,000 through an African Union resolution.

However, for the force which will be based in the Chadian capital N'Djamena to start operations, it will require an approval of the United Nations Security Council.

Cameroon has placed its hope in this regional cooperation and support of the international community to end Boko Haram attacks.

The Cameroonian president hailed the initiatives launched by his Nigerian counterpart since coming to power.

Buhari, not pleased with the incapacity of his country's defense and security forces, recently announced changes at the helm of various military units.

Speaking in Cameroon on Wednesday, the Nigerian president reiterated his commitment to "defend and restore Nigeria's territorial integrity and protect the lives of people with their properties."

Nigeria, he affirmed, is determined to eliminate Boko Haram which has killed and displaced thousands of Nigerians and left thousands others homeless or with no means of survival.

"We should try to rid our countries of this group, which threatens and seeks to destroy our freedoms that we painfully obtained, and that which we have achieved as individual countries or as a sub-region," Buhari affirmed. Endit