“On Tuesday, May 5, 2015, U.S. Ambassador Michael S. Hoza announced the United States’ support to Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria with a $40 million dollar assistance package over three years to directly aid efforts to counter Boko Haram and ensuring security in the Lake Chad Basin region. The announcement was made on the launch of the Global Security Contingency Fund to Counter-Boko Haram program.
‘This is a firm, concrete, and clear testament to the United States of America’s commitment to support your efforts, your ideas, and your leadership in ensuring security in the Lake Chad Basin region,’ stated Ambassador Hoza today. He highlighted that this assistance package of $40 million USD will directly aid the efforts to counter the threat in the Lake Chad basin region. He also pointed out the tragedy left behind by this band of thugs that has perpetrated countless unprovoked attacks on men, women, and children in their homes, schools, places of worship, and businesses. ‘We offer our condolences to the Governments and people of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, and to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and who are still missing.’ Ambassador concluded.
The program includes a series of train-and-equip activities spanning national-level military and civilian security forces’ entities within these countries. Specifically, this $40 million program encompasses four focus areas that, through the provision of technical expertise, training, and equipment, will meet several goals. It will assist the four nations to develop interagency, national border security, and counterterrorism strategies for their borders threatened by Boko Haram; this week’s workshop is the first step towards this objective. The program will also assist these four nations to develop and enhance rural border patrol and tactical reconnaissance capabilities for relevant national-level border and counterterrorism forces.
The U.S. Government and the American people re-commit today to strengthen the efforts and resolve to further promote the security of the citizens in this region, whose future development, prosperity, and security are of the highest priority for each of our nations.
The United States approved using the Global Security Contingency Fund authority over three years to assist the Governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to develop institutional and tactical capabilities to enhance their joint efforts to address security on their shared borders, and to lay the groundwork for increased cross-border cooperation to counter Boko Haram.
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Source:Press Releases | Embassy of the United States Yaounde, Cameroon