Lake Chad Basin Multi-National Joint Task Force
To coordinate counter-Boko Haram efforts in the Lake Chad Basin, Benin [which is some great distance from the Lake itself], Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria formed a Multi-National Joint Task Force in 2015. In the Lake Chad Basin, the Nigerian, Chadian, Cameroonian, and Nigerien governments took a number of steps in 2015 to increase counter-Boko Haram efforts. Bilateral and multilateral efforts by these regional military forces successfully challenged Boko Haram’s hold on territory, forcing it to abandon major military-style campaigns and revert back to the asymmetric tactics seen in previous years.
Despite these setbacks, Boko Haram withstood and adapted to the military offensives. The group carried out kidnappings, killings, bombings (including with child suicide bombers), and attacks on civilian and military targets throughout the Lake Chad Basin, resulting in thousands of deaths, injuries, and significant destruction of property. In Nigeria, the northeast states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe experienced significant terrorist attacks. Boko Haram’s violence also spilled over into neighboring northern Cameroon, Chad, and southeast Niger. In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in an audiotaped message.
In the Lake Chad Basin, the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), comprising Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, successfully coordinated defeat-ISIS-West Africa and counter-Boko Haram efforts that increased pressure on the groups. Although degraded, Boko Haram continued an asymmetric campaign of kidnappings, killings, bombings, suicide bombers, and attacks on civilian and military targets throughout northeast Nigeria during 2016, resulting in a significant number of deaths, injuries, and destruction of property. ISIS-West Africa consolidated its presence in the Lake Chad area following its August 2016 split from Boko Haram and targeted primarily vulnerable regional military and government targets.
Cameroon is a contributing and active member of the Lake Chad Basin’s MNJTF, and it contributes forces to this effort. A Cameroonian general commands the MNJTF’s sector one, and Cameroonian security forces are active participants in unilateral internal and regional joint combat operations against BH and ISIS. Cameroon is active in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership.
Chad engaged in major external military operations in 2016 in neighboring countries. Chad continued to provide combat forces to the Lake Chad Basin Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). Chad participated in the Commission’s effort to develop the MNJTF and deployed a contingent of 700 troops along the Lake Chad border to prevent infiltration by BH. Chad has also cooperated actively with Cameroon and Nigeria in operations to counter the threat of BH in its border regions.
In 2016 Niger increased its cooperation with Lake Chad Basin Commission member countries to fight against BH. Nigerien officials hosted and attended multiple international meetings concerning international efforts to counter the threat of BH. Niger is a member of and contributes troops to the Lake Chad Basin Multinational Joint Task Force along with Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria.
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