President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Friday assumed the leadership of African Union (AU) amidst effort for urgent action to defeat the Boko Haram militants in North East Nigeria.

AU Peace and Security Council had also endorsed for a regional five-nation force of 7,500 troops to be deployed to stop the insurgents.

Countries of the Lake Chad region including Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin on Thursday in Addis Ababa, secured the endorsement for the deployment of 7,500 forces when the proposal was tabled at the AU Peace and Security Councli, chaired by Alpha Conde of Guinea.

More than 13,000 people have been killed and more than a million made homeless by Boko Haram violence since 2009 when violence broke out in Nigeria's North East of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

The Southern African Regional leader assumed the leadership from the Mauritania from North Africa Region who had completed its one year under its leader President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

The Mugabe led 54-member continental bloc is expected to adopt Peace and security proposal and also evolve mechanisms to address other challenges of the continent within the next two days.

Mugabe in his acceptance speech assured of the Union effort to end the crises, including the war in South Sudan and Central African Republic (CAR), as well as the new offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He said the leaders would continue to support the countries affected by the Ebola epidemic even as issue is centre of discussion during the two-day summit.

The African leaders are expected to endorse an economic recovery for countries affected by the Ebola virus as well as the proposal for African Centre for Disease Control.

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