The United States government says it is seeking more coordinated military campaign against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.
To achieve this, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, is expected to visit the three countries between April 16 and 23.
The purpose of the visit, according to the US Department of State, is to highlight the growing threat Boko Haram poses to the Lake Chad Basin.
“Boko Haram is one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world. It poses an acute threat to civilians across the Lake Chad Basin, and the group’s increasing lethality and relationship with ISIL are cause for alarm.
“As the world notes with sadness the second anniversary of the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, we must work with partners in the region to develop a comprehensive counter-Boko Haram effort that includes a more coordinated military campaign, improved humanitarian access and response, a well-resourced stabilisation and governance strategy, and expanded efforts to combat violent extremism,” it said.
In Cameroon, Power will meet with government officials and civil society. She will also meet with refugees, internally displaced persons, and Cameroonian forces on the front lines of the regional effort to combat Boko Haram.
The US diplomat is also expected to participate in a public destruction of confiscated ivory and pangolin scales, demonstrating the strong US-Cameroonian partnership to counter wildlife trafficking.
In Chad, the US ambassador will meet with government officials and visit the headquarters for the Multinational Joint Task Force, a regional military effort composed of the Boko Haram-affected states in the Lake Chad Basin.
In Nigeria, Power will engage with the Nigerian leadership and civil society in Abuja before travelling to the North-East to visit a settlement camp for civilians displaced by Boko Haram’s violence. Finally, she will host a town hall with students and will participate in a ‘Peace through sports’ event with young Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the US has announced an initial contribution of nearly $421 million of humanitarian assistance toward the 2016 global appeal for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
This brings the total of US government’s contribution to UNHCR to nearly $698 million to date.
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