Addressing reporters in the capital N'Djamena on the 55th anniversary of Chad's independence from France, Déby said: "Boko Haram is decapitated. There are little groups (of Boko Haram members) scattered throughout east Nigeria, on the border with Cameroon. It is within our power to definitively overcome Boko Haram." "The war will be short, with the setting up of the regional force, it will be over by the end of the year," Déby added, referring to a new five-country force aimed at ending Boko Haram's bloody six-year Islamist insurgency that he said would be "operational in a few days". Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have all pledged troops towards the new force. Déby further claimed that Boko Haram was no longer led by the fearsome Abubakar Shekau and that his successor was open to talks. "There is someone apparently called Mahamat Daoud who is said to have replaced Abubakar Shekau and he wants to negotiate with the Nigerian government. "For my part, I would advise not to negotiate with a terrorist," Déby, whose country has been spearheading the regional fightback against Boko Haram, said. Suicide attacks While claiming progress in the fight against the jihadists, who have repeatedly hit border areas of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and wrought havoc in northeast Nigeria, Déby admitted that suicide bombers still posed a threat. His comments came as a bomb attack on a packed market in northeastern Nigeria, bearing the hallmarks of Boko Haram, killed around 50 people. The explosion struck at around 1.30 pm (1230 GMT) in the town of Sabon Gari in Borno state, which is the heartland of the Islamist militant group. In the past few weeks suicide bombers, many of them women, have staged several attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The challenge, Déby said, was to "avoid terrorist acts and that's why we must organise at the regional level to prevent bomb-making materials and other explosives entering our countries".
