The leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon meet in a bid to soothe fractious ties between the West African neighbours and strengthen cooperation against Islamist insurgents Boko Haram.
The leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon met on Wednesday in a bid to soothe fractious ties between the West African neighbours and strengthen cooperation against Islamist insurgents Boko Haram.
Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari's first visit to Cameroon President Paul Biya since Buhari's election in March comes as the Nigerian militant group, which has sworn allegiance to Islamic State, has launched a fresh wave of attacks in Nigeria,Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Buhari, wearing a white traditional robe and hat, was greeted on arrival at Yaounde international airport by the 82-year-old Biya. The two men later held talks at the presidential palace and were due to make a joint statement on Thursday ahead of Buhari's departure.
Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger waged an offensive against Boko Haram in 2015 that broke its grip over swathes of northeastern Nigeria, but the group has responded with suicide bombings and raids that have spread the conflict across borders. Tensions are running high in Cameroon's Far North region after three suicide attacks in the past week killed at least 60 people, prompting the local government to announce the closure of some mosques, ban burqas and forbid street hawkers.
In Nigeria, suspected Boko Haram attacks have killed atleast 600 people since Buhari took office two months ago.
Boko Haram has switched to attacking civilian targets because it is no longer capable of military engagements, said Cameroon's information minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakari. "The heads of state are going to discuss the best means oferadicating this new form of belligerence and the strategies to reduce Boko Haram," he said, before the talks.
An African Union-mandated, 8,700-strong regional task force,headquartered in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, was due to start operations at the end of this month but has been delayed by questions over funding.
The Nigerian presidency said the talks would focus on the activation and deployment of this force. Buhari is due to visit Benin, the fifth member of the operation, on Saturday.
Relations between Cameroon and Nigeria have been strained by a border dispute that flared into conflict in 1993. Biya, in power since 1982, did not attend Buhari's inauguration and the Nigerian leader's trip comes nearly two months after he visited Chad and Niger.
"Buhari's visit should help ease the climate of mistrust between Cameroon and Nigeria," said Njoya Moussa, a Cameroonian political analyst.
In the past, Abuja has accused Yaounde of dragging its feetover tackling Boko Haram, which analysts say established rear bases on the Cameroonian side of the Mandara mountains.
Cameroon has complained that its efforts to combat the militants have been hampered by Nigeria's refusal to grant its forces the right to pursue them onto its soil, which both Chad and Niger enjoy.
A spokesman for Buhari said that member countries had agreed that the joint task force would have the right to cross international borders - eliminating this problem. "Wherever terrorists are they will be chased to those locations and they will be fought until they are finished,"Garba Shehu told the BBC.
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