Boko Haram crisis: Regional force takes shape

Military chiefs from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Niger are finalising their strategy for a 8,750-strong regional force to tackle the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

In the last few weeks, the Multinational Joint Task Force has retaken several towns captured by the militants in north-eastern Nigeria.

Now, the regional chiefs are preparing for a major ground and air offensive due to start next month – and are meeting in Chad this week to set out the command structure.

The force will be led by a Nigerian commander, after which the position will rotate among the members.

‘Common enemy’

It is not clear whether Brig Gen Enitan Ransome Kuti, who was in charge before the force was boosted, will remain its head.

He is highly respected but he and other senior officials were arrested in January by Nigerian military authorities after failing to fight off a Boko Haram attack on the force’s headquarters in Baga in north-eastern Borno, one of three states under a state of emergency since 2013.