Chadian Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet led demonstrators
on Saturday as they marched from N'Djamena’s city hall to the Place de Nation
square, carrying Chadian flags and chanting in French and Arabic: "Kick
the forces of evil out of our territory," in response to the government’s
decision to send troops to fight Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists.
A large banner read: "We support our army. The people
of Chad support their Cameroonian and Nigerian brothers in the fight against
terrorism."
"Today's march is a strong signal, a warning to Boko
Haram and above all a march for peace to protect our vital interests, to
protect our economy, to protect Chad's security," Deubet said.
"The country is seriously threatened by Boko
Haram," said Ouchar Tourguidi, head of the main party in parliament,
calling the rally "important for boosting morale of our troops who are
going to the front."
Dozens of Chadian tanks headed out of the capital on Friday
south towards Cameroon after Chad's parliament approved the deployment.
Chad's plunge into the war against Boko Haram came after a
large-scale attack by the militants in Baga, the Nigerian town on the shores of
Lake Chad were as many as 2,000 people were massacred by the militants in a
raid on January 7 described by US Secretary of State John Kerry as a
"crime against humanity".
Cameroon's President Paul Biya had announced Thursday that
his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby had agreed to send "a substantial
contingent" of troops to help Cameroonian armed forces, who have faced
repeated attacks from Boko Haram.
The Russian ambassador to the country also pledged to supply
Cameroon with more modern weapons to combat the Islamist insurgents.
No comments:
Post a Comment