Anti-boko haram force set to begin joint raids, U.N. rep says.

Nov 13, 2015 According to a top U.N official in West Africa, a regional task force is set to begin raids on Boko Haram’s last enclaves soon.

Nigerian and Chadian forces early this year forced the militant group to cede a large part of its territory in northern Nigeria.

Commenting on the joint-task force, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the U.N. Special Representative for West Africa said:

“The rainy season is always an opportunity for terrorist groups and extremist movements like that to hide in the thicket and in the forest to perpetrate the atrocities that they commit, and in the Sahara, in the Sahel savannah zone, when the rainy season is over, it makes movement of the military much easier, and we expect to see a very aggressive approach against Boko Haram this coming dry season,”

The 8,700-strong joint force, headquartered in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, will consist of troops from Chad, Niger, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon.