Nigeria’s neighbours band together to fight Boko Haram

Cameroon, Chad and Niger have launched a regional bid to combat the Boko Haram Islamists, as their attacks spread beyond Nigeria and concern mounts over the Nigerians’ failure to regain control. The three neighbours have opted for a joint military response to the cross-border threat from Boko Haram fighters and have made veiled criticisms of Nigeria, whose armed forces appear no match for the Islamist group that emerged in 2009. Officially, all four states, whose borders converge in remote territory at Lake Chad, formed a military alliance that was due to take shape last November to battle Boko Haram. But building a combined Lake Chad force seems to have dropped off the agenda. Now, the urgency of the situation is such that Nigeria’s partners appear to have finally lost patience and decided to act.

The most worrying situation for us today is Nigeria, it’s the situation of Boko Haram.

Niger’s Defence Minister Karidjo Mahamadou, after the fall of Baga

The move comes after the Islamists seized Baga town on the Nigerian shore of Lake Chad early this month in an offensive that “could be Boko Haram’s deadliest act”, according to Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for Amnesty International. Eyre said as many as 2,000 civilians may have been massacred, but Nigeria’s army objected to the “sensational” claims and said the death toll in Baga was about 150. Nigeria’s army had planned to use the isolated settlement of Baga as one of its key bases to work with a regional force. However, the other countries are opposed to any major deployment inside a bastion of Boko Haram, which is against Western education and wants to establish an Islamist caliphate.

Since November, we have no longer been at that post [Baga]. We explained to the Nigerians that we could not stay since we did not wish to put the lives of our soldiers in danger.

Mahamadou

Africa boko haram