Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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169. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the attacks on Chad, by the group called Boko Haram, from Nigeria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7475/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Boko Haram carried out its first reported terrorist attack in Chad on 13 February. The attack took place in the village of Ngouboua, on the shores of Lake Chad. Reports suggest that the militants killed and wounded a number of Chadians and destroyed most of the village before being pushed back by the Chadian army.

I utterly condemn the appalling acts of violence being perpetrated in Nigeria and its neighbouring countries by Boko Haram. These include the recent killing of a large number of civilians in an attack by militants in the north-eastern state of Borno in Nigeria. I share the horror at reports of the group's use of innocent young children to carry primed explosives. I have previously also condemned the abduction of more than 200 young girls from a school in the Nigerian town of Chibok last April.

The attack in Chad, as well as the recent attacks on Kerawa in Cameroon and Diffa in Niger, confirm the regional nature of the threat now posed by Boko Haram and the need to tackle it on a regional basis. The EU Foreign Affairs Council, which I attended in Brussels last week, noted that the responsibility to address the immediate security challenge lies primarily with the countries most affected, and called upon them to urgently intensify cooperation and coordination. The Council commended the Chadian army's recent assistance to the Cameroonian forces already engaged in the fight against Boko Haram. We also welcomed the decision of the States in the region, endorsed by the African Union, to deploy a multinational force, which will also be endorsed by the UN Security Council. Experts from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin met at Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 5-7 February to finalise operational issues for the multinational force.

The Council also expressed concern about the humanitarian consequences of the Boko Haram attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger and pledged to continue providing immediate relief to those in need and to increase supports at regional level. Ireland provided €1 million in December 2014 to the UNHCR to support its work for Nigerian refugees in Chad.