Chadian President restates commitment to ending terrorism in Lake Chad region
Gen. Mahamat Idriss-Déby Itno, the President of Chad has reiterated his country’s commitment to rid the Lake Chad region of terrorism and insurgency, as well as resolve security and humanitarian challenges.
The President made this known on Thursday while addressing the 4th Lake Chad Governor’s Forum meeting in N’Djamena.
Itno, represented by Minister of Territorial Administration, Decentralisation and Good Governance, Limane Mahamat, assured that Chad would continue to support efforts toward restoring peace and livelihood of the people of Lake Chad region.
He noted that terrorist groups had unleashed evil campaign against the region, which exacerbated the vulnerability of the populations who were in great humanitarian need.
“We want to create resilience and development opportunities. Our strength lies in solidarity,” he told the governors.
The president stressed the importance of sustaining military operations against Boko Haram and other non kinetic measures in achieving peace in the region.
“For the past two decades, the Lake Chad region and the four countries in the Lake Chad Basin – Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon – have been grappling with the insurgency of the terrorist group Boko Haram and the resulting instability.
“This has led to conflicts and emerging challenges, causing massive population displacement, damage to social fabric, disruption of public services, and weakened institutional capacities.
“To address these crises affecting our region, we must strengthen collaboration at the regional, national, and local levels, through symmetrical approaches involving a wide range of stakeholders, including civilian populations,” Itno said
The forum was organized by the Lake Chad Basin Commission in collaboration with African Union Commission and United Nations Development Programme.
The meeting aims to address the security challenges in the Lake Chad Basin and foster better understanding of the security dynamics, and the implications of ongoing efforts to restore civil authority to areas affected reclaimed from the insurgents.
The forum’s objective is also to strengthen ownership of the process and create opportunities for engagement, in order to consolidate achievements and advance regional cooperation in key priority areas.
Additionally, the eight governors will focus on providing options for climate security and natural resource management, the dynamics of farmer-herder conflicts and its implications on community resilience and sustainable peace in the Lake Chad region.
