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Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria wants war 'on all fronts' Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria to lead regional force
(about 4 hours later)
A campaign "on all fronts" is needed to tackle the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Nigeria's president has said. Five African countries have agreed to set up a joint military force led by Nigeria to fight the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
President Muhammadu Buhari told his regional counterparts that this includes better intelligence sharing to stop the flow of money and weapons. The leaders reached the deal at a summit hosted by Nigeria's new president Muhammadu Buhari, who made tackling it a key campaign pledge.
The leaders are in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to re-launch a joint military force to confront the jihadists. Most of the troops will be from Nigeria with Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin also contributing.
The six-year Islamist insurgency in north-east Nigeria has also drawn in neighbours Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds kidnapped by the group.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds kidnapped. The decision that the force should be led by a Nigerian commander came after Mr Buhari rejected calls for leadership to rotate between the countries.
Mr Buhari said that Boko Haram has the region in a "vicious stranglehold" and the "dastardly crimes against our people by the insurgents" have emphasised what the nations have in common. But the leaders agreed the force would be based in the Chadian capital, N'djamena, rather than Baga in northeast Nigeria.
At his inauguration in May, Mr Buhari vowed that he would tackle Boko Haram "head on" and also pledged to work with his neighbours. Analysis: Will Ross, BBC News, Nigeria
Calling this meeting at short notice is another sign that ending the Boko Haram insurgency is the number one priority for Nigeria's new president, the BBC's Nigeria reporter Will Ross says. Calling this meeting at short notice is a sign that ending the Boko Haram insurgency is the number one priority for Nigeria's new president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Buhari says fighting Boko Haram should include limiting the group's capacity to access funds and weapons, which is where better intelligence gathering should help. Since being sworn in less than two weeks ago he has flown to Chad, Niger and Germany to attend the G7 summit.
Chad, Cameroon and Niger have been assisting Nigeria recapture territory from the insurgents, but a plan to create a large joint military force had stalled. All of these meetings focused on building an international alliance to fight Boko Haram.
Nigeria has pledged $100m (£64m) to help create the regional force which will be based in the Chadian capital, N'djamena. During the last two weeks more than 100 people have been killed in gun attacks and bomb blasts carried out by the jihadists.
It had been suggested a different country would take over the command of the regional force every six months. They set a July deadline for the parties to contribute troops.
But President Buhari said it would be more effective if Nigeria retained the command throughout the conflict. At the conference, Mr Buhari stressed the need for better sharing of intelligence to stop the flow of money and weapons across borders.
During the two weeks that President Buhari has been in office, more than 100 people have been killed in gun attacks and bomb blasts blamed on Boko Haram. He said a campaign "on all fronts" was needed to bring the six-year insurgency to an end.
Chad, Cameroon and Niger have been helping Nigeria recapture territory from the insurgents, but a plan to create a large joint military force had stalled.