Boko Haram battle: African allies kill 86 militants, reclaim towns

African allies claim they’re making progress in the war against Boko Haram. Nigerian troops, backed by air strikes, say they’ve reclaimed the towns of Monguno and Marte from Boko Haram, according to a military statement. Meanwhile, Cameroon’s army says it has killed 86 Boko Haram militants and detained 1,000 people suspected of links to the Islamist group. Five Cameroonian soldiers were also killed during the clashes in the Waza region near the border with Nigeria. It comes as central African leaders held talks on how to combat its bloody insurgency.

We have to eradicate Boko Haram.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya

Nigeria-based Boko Haram has widened its attacks into neighbouring nations, notably Cameroon and Chad, in a conflict estimated to have claimed a total 13,000 lives since 2009. A Cameroonian army official announced that more than 1,000 people suspected of being affiliated with Boko Haram were being held in the town of Maroua, in the country’s Far North region, where more than 2,000 Cameroonian soldiers have been deployed since August last year. After previous talks in Yaounde, Nigeria’s immediate neighbours, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin announced on February 7 that they would mobilise a regional force of 8,700 men to fight Boko Haram.

Africa Boko Haram