African bloc ECCAS to provide $100 million to combat Boko Haram

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Tuesday 17 Feb 2015 - 11:27 Makkah mean time-28-4-1436 Leaders of ECCAS countries/ Xinhua Image 16 Feb Yaoundé (IINA) – The leaders of Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) agreed in an extraordinary summit to provide Cameroon and Chad with an emergency aid of about $100 million to combat Boko Haram, Xinhua reported. The summit was attended by six presidents of ECCAS Member States, including Cameroonian President Paul Biya, Chadian President Idriss Deby, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang, Gabonese President Ali Bongo, Congolese President Deniss Sassou and Central African Republic provisional President Catherine Samba-Panza. "Everyone will contribute according to their ability, but the most important thing is to set up these fund quickly to deal with the situation," said General Allam-Mi, secretary of the ECCAS. Before wrapping up their summit on Monday afternoon, the six heads of state and other participants signed the Yaoundé Declaration in which they reiterated the need to work collectively to eradicate the terrorists. They also agreed to fully cooperate with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the fight against Boko Haram. "We engage to immediately bring multifaceted support to Cameroon, Chad and all the other member states who would be affected by the terrorist group, notably military, financial, logistics and humanitarian support," the declaration said. The ECCAS leaders also called on the international community to maintain and increase its support for the fight against Boko Haram. ECCAS is the largest economic community in Central Africa with 10 member states, namely: Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, and Sao Tome and Principe. AB/IINA