Africa seeks mandate to fight Boko Haram

African nations threatened by Nigeria's Boko Haram will seek UN Security Council authorization for a multinational force to take on the Islamist militants, Niger's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Mohamed Bazoum said the countries of the Lake Chad region agreed during a meeting in Niger's capital, Niamey, on Tuesday that the resolution will be presented to the UN by the African Union. He did not say when this would be done.

Boko Haram, which is fighting to create an Islamic emirate in northern Nigeria, has increasingly made incursions into neighboring Cameroon and is also threatening the stability of the region that includes Niger and Chad.