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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier said he supports the A.U.'s move to send a force to fight Boko Haram. Boko Haram is increasing its attacks as Nigeria prepares for Feb. 14 elections, in which President Goodluck Jonathan is seeking another term. Thousands have been killed in the five-year insurgency.
Iran also said Saturday it has begun consultations with West African countries affected by Boko Haram to provide help. The country's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said he is confident the group could be defeated with collective action.
"We will share our experiences in combating terrorism to defeat Boko Haram. We will achieve that without a doubt," the official said on the sidelines of the summit. The U.S. promised Friday more technical support, training and equipment.
African nations have opened up a new international front in the war on terror. On Thursday, neighboring Chad sent a warplane and troops that drove the extremists out of a northeastern Nigeria border town in the first such act by foreign troops on Nigerian soil.
Chad's victory, and the need for foreign troops, is an embarrassment to Nigeria's once-mighty military, brought low by corruption and politics.
Chergui said Chad's operation against Boko Haram was a result of a bilateral arrangement between the Chad and Cameroon.
"It is conducted as part of a bilateral agreement and arrangement between the two countries. The A.U. will launch the force in the future," he said.
Boko Haram attracted international outrage in April when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls at a boarding school in the remote town of Chibok. Dozens escaped on their own, but 219 remain missing. Suicide bombings in recent months by young girls has raised fears that Boko Haram is using the kidnap victims in its conflict, which has displaced more than 1 million people and killed about 10,000 in the last year, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
