The council extended the mandate on Monday after conducting a poll at the headquarters of the MNJTF in N’Djamena, Chad.
The Peace and Security Council of the African Union has extended the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) mandate in the fight against Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) till February 2024.
The council extended the mandate on Monday after conducting a poll at the headquarters of the MNJTF in N’Djamena, Chad.
In attendance at the event included the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye; the Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Head of Mission for MNJTF, Mamman Nuhu and MNJTF Commander, Abul Khalifa Ibrahim.
Presently, the MNJTF presently operates in Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria.
The AU Security Council leaders commended the MJTF for the successes it has recorded in neutralising key terrorist leaders and decimating their logistics support bases.
However, they urged the MNJTF to carry out more operations which will force the terrorists to surrender unconditionally or face elimination.
This comes months after the MNJTF reportedly killed dozens of ISWAP fighters in Borno state of Nigeria, following an intelligence which revealed that they were converging in large numbers.
Recall that in May this year, the MNJTF also killed 22 Boko Haram fighters in the Lake Chad region in a coordinated land and air offensives against the sect.