In Chad, three days after the Boko Haram attack on a Chadian army base, an inaugural meeting of the steering committee of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Lake Chad basin was organized on Wednesday in Ndjamena. This security meeting allowed representatives of CSOs from Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad to examine their contribution to consolidating peace in this sub-region.
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With our correspondent in Ndjamena, Olivier Monodji
For fifteen years, the populations of Lake Chad Basin are under threat from the jihadist nebula. The attack on Sunday October 27 on a Chadian army base, which resulted in the death of at least forty peopleis a new illustration of the concern of civil society organizations (CSOs).
They are calling for more collaboration, particularly in the intelligence sector. “ Civil society is not an armed arm, nor even less a security force. But all we can do is collaborate more with the defense and security forces to exchange more information, but also participate in security efforts. », says Mara Mamadou, representative of CSOs in Niger.
Include local populations
Better involving local communities: a measure at the heart of the action plan presented Wednesday by organizations in the sub-region, following their meeting in the Chadian capital. This is also obvious to Fatima Haram Acyl, Chadian Minister Delegate to the Ministry of Finance.
“ Complementing state initiatives, to address complex challenges, the task before us is considerable, as we strive to implement meaningful change, and overcome the complexities of the challenges we face “, she says.
“ Track down, flush out and destroy Boko Haram’s nuisance capacity »
At the same time, the Chadian army continues its “Haskanite” retaliation operation to track down the attackers “ to their last entrenchments », Warned President Mahamat Idriss Déby after the attack. As the three-day national mourning decreed by the Head of State ends on Thursday, the interim Prime Minister, Abderahim Bireme Hamid, provided some details on the operation, in a message to the institutions of the Republic, and posted his determination against Boko Haram.
“ This large-scale military operation is a just and legitimate response to the despicable crimes of the forces of evil, who had the audacity to attack the positions of our soldiers on a sacred mission. It is a question of tracking down, flushing out and annihilating the nuisance capacity of Boko Haram and its affiliates. The terrorists will pay dearly the price for this affront “, he declared on the microphone of Carol Valade.
This “Haskanite” operation will not only be a response to violence, but an act of solidarity with those who suffer. It is right that the President of the Republic, after the launch of the operation, remained on the ground, and personally follows the conduct of the response operation.
Abderahim Bireme Hamid, Acting Prime Minister of Chad
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