Cameroon's President Paul Biya has sent the army chief to the country’s north in a bid to intensify the battle against Nigeria’s Boko Haram Takfiri militants.

The commander was sent to the volatile area on Sunday, following a series of cross-border attacks and abductions performed by the militants.

Biya has announced that the government will send more troops and military equipment to the area.

"In the last few weeks, our forces have made important advances against Boko Haram, but it is a long fight," he said on Saturday.

"Because it is an international terrorist movement, we should take action internationally."

Boko Haram has long used northern parts of Cameroon near the Nigerian border as a safe haven for its acts of terror.

The militants have conducted a number of assaults and kidnappings in Cameroon, including the abduction of deputy prime minister's wife in late July. Following the abduction, the Cameroonian army launched a successful operation and rescued the abducted wife of Amadou Ali.

The notorious group has repeatedly targeted Nigerian civilians, mostly in the remote state of Borno, killing more than 2,000 civilians since January.

On April 14, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the town of Chibok in Borno. Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape, but 219 are still missing and international efforts to spot and rescue them have failed so far.

Boko Haram -- whose name means “Western education is forbidden” -- says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.

It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of its militancy in 2009. Over 10,000 people have so far been killed in the assaults.