Benin will next month deploy 150 troops to assist in a regional task-force battling Islamist militant group Boko Haram, a statement from the task force said on Tuesday.
The Nigeria-based Islamist militant group has survived attempts by African armies to crush it, and have now stepped up attacks in the Lake Chad region, threatening National security.
The troops from Benin will act as a reserve rapid intervention force and are the last from the five countries involved in the African Union-led force to be deployed.
“The Benin Republic has announced its readiness to deploy 150 military troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) … next month,” a statement sent by public information officer for the MNJTF Colonel Mohammad Dole said.
The statement did not however specify where the troops would be sent. The MNJTF’s headquarters is in Chad’s capital N’Djamena.
The regional force became operational last year, and already includes troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
