The Boko Haram crisis in northern Nigeria continues to rage. On Wednesday, Boko Haram staged a major counter-attack against Cameroon– one of the nations leading an African Union coalition against the terrorist group– launching a bloody rampage through the border town of Fotokol that killed at least 91 villages and wounded over 500, according to the Associated Press.
Churches, mosques, schools, and food stores were also destroyed, in what Boko Haram described as a warning against other African nations considering a contribution to the multi-national force arranged against it. Western nations have also been contemplating more significant action against Boko Haram, a task complicated by human-rights complaints against the Nigerian army that preclude some forms of military aid.
The African Union has been trying to assemble a coordinated force of 7,500 troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin to battle what Cameroonian officials described as a “cancer” that could spread across all of Africa if not stopped. There are said to be “funding problems” hindering this effort, which, alas, has been the doom of many African initiatives. It remains to be seen if the growing threat of Boko Haram will galvanize the African Union to get past its usual bureaucratic and financial stumbling blocks, or frighten wavering members out of the coalition.
Officials from Western nations, including the U.S., France, Russia, and the European Union, attended the meetings to discuss organizing a multi-national African force, and made vague promises of assistance. There is also tension among the Western sponsors of the anti-Boko Haram coalition, however. For one thing, the French are frustrated that they have been doing much of the heavy lifting so far, flying reconnaissance missions out of their airbase in Chad and offering logistical support, including food and munitions. French President Francois Hollande was rather blunt in signaling that the rest of the West need to step up its efforts: “France can’t resolve all the conflicts in the world. Do your work. Don’t give lectures. Take action.”
Please ReTweet
