The United States will conduct
surveillance and intelligence operations against Boko Haram inside
Nigeria, sources familiar with the plan told AFP Friday, a significant
escalation of Washington’s role in combatting the Islamist group.
The operations will be carried out as part of the recently announced
deployment of up to 300 US military personnel to neighboring Cameroon,
officials said.
“This is going to be part of our Boko Haram efforts that will be
operating throughout the region,” one of the sources said on condition
of anonymity. It will not include boots on the ground or offensive
combat, but will see US military operations against Boko Haram in
Nigeria for the first time.
“It’s surveillance and intelligence gathering, not anything offensive,” said the same source.
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced 90 US personnel had
already been sent to Cameroon and may eventually number up to 300.
The White House has been at pains to stress that personnel would not
take part in combat operations and would be armed only for self-defense.
Nigeria greeted that announcement as a “welcome development.” President
Muhammadu Buhari took office in May vowing to end the violence that has
killed scores and spooked much-needed international investors.
But US efforts to give him military assistance have been hampered by
concerns about human rights abuses carried out by the country’s
military. And until now Washington has largely shied away from engaging
its vast military assets to combat Boko Haram, with policymakers wary of
fueling militant recruitment or fusing the group’s ties with Middle
Eastern Islamists.
The group’s leaders have allied themselves with the Islamic State group,
but experts doubt the scale and scope of collaboration. However, there
are growing fears that a once regional Muslim anti-colonial movement is
now metastasizing into a regional jihadist threat. The US moves come as
Boko Haram steadily expands operations beyond its traditional base in
northern Nigeria, conducting attacks in Cameroon and Chad that have
killed dozens.
An uptick in violence is expected in the coming weeks with the end of
the rainy season and amid growing resistance to a nascent multi-national
joint task force bringing together countries in the region to fight
Boko Haram
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