After the Paris summit on security situation in West Africa, French President Francois Hollande said Saturday that Nigeria’s Boko Haram had “established links” to Osama’s Al-Qaeda group and urged countries in the region to devise a common strategy to combat its threat.
Speaking at during the summit in Paris with Nigeria and neighbouring countries, Hollande said: “Boko Haram has become a major threat for all of west Africa and now for central Africa. Its links to AQMI (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and other terrorist organisations have been established.”
While speaking too, the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told newsmen that the Islamic sect operating in Northern Nigeria is far different from that which emerged years ago expressing its opposition to Western education.
Jonathan said Boko Haram is “clearly” linked to Al-Qaeda.
“The Boko Haram that said no to Western education in 2002 is not the same Boko Haram operating today,” he said.
However, African leaders meeting in Paris have agreed to wage “war” on Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamic militants.
Hollande, who hosted the summit, said regional powers had pledged to share intelligence and co-ordinate action against the group. The Paris summit brought together Mr Hollande, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, and their counterparts from Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
He said participants countries had agreed on a “global and regional action plan”.
This included sharing intelligence, monitoring borders and co-ordinating action, including possible operations involving French troops in the region, Mr Hollande said.
President Idriss Deby of Chad said regional powers would “tackle this situation head on” and wage “total war on Boko Haram”.
Representatives from the UK, US and EU also took part in the meeting
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