Chad and Niger launched a joint army operation against Boko Haram militants in Nigeria on Sunday, military sources said, intensifying a regional push to try to defeat the Sunni Islamic group that has killed thousands in a six-year insurgency.
Boko Haram has expanded cross-border raids into Cameroon, Chad and Niger in recent months, spurring Nigeria's neighbours to retaliate, although co-operation between them and the government in Abuja has been limited and at times strained. Sunday's strike marks Niger's first incursion deep into Nigerian territory; the country's troops had until now only fought Boko Haram in the border area.
Chad has already sent troops many kilometres inside north-eastern Nigeria, winning back areas from the Sunni jihadist group near the Nigeria-Cameroon border. "We can confirm that Chadian and Nigerien forces launched an offensive this morning from Niger. The offensive is underway," said Colonel Azem Bermandoa, spokesman for Chad's army.
A witness in Niger's south-eastern town of Diffa said he saw a convoy of at least 300 vehicles, including army jeeps equipped with heavy weapons as well as water and fuel trucks, leaving barracks overnight and heading to the border.
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