Boko Haram “on the defensive” as U.S., Nigeria prepare to escalate fight

PanARMENIAN.Net - A high-level delegation of U.S. diplomats will huddle with their African counterparts in Nigeria this weekend in hopes of escalating the fight against Boko Haram, just as analysts say signs of real progress are finally emerging in the fight against the brutal jihadi terror group, the Washington Post reports.

The Nigeria-based Boko Haram has made headlines with its grisly use of female suicide bombers and its mass kidnappings of schoolgirls — rated in one survey as the world’s deadliest terror group. But after scoring major gains after launching its insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, national security sources say the pieces are slowly falling into place for a coordinated military push by Nigeria and its neighbors.

The Nigerian capital of Abuja on Saturday, May 14 will be the site of a regional summit, bringing together top officials from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, France, Britain and the U.S. The gathering presents a “major opportunity” for improvement in the multinational campaign, the ICG analysts said. The Obama administration has also committed roughly $200 million in humanitarian assistance for Boko Haram-affected populations in the region.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield, along with the State Department’s Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Justin Siberell, will represent the U.S. at the gathering, The Washington Post says.

They’re likely to push for an expansion of informal education centers for children of families displaced by Boko Haram, some 300 of which the State Department says have already been established.

But behind the scenes, the Obama administration is also expected to seek greater influence over the direction of the multinational African military campaign against Boko Haram.

Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon have engaged in airstrikes and ground offensive against the group since early 2015, establishing a 7,500-strong multinational force with the aim of eventually taking back villages and towns held by the extremists.

Boko Haram remains a dangerous, if weakened, force: A suicide bomber just barely stopped from entering a government compound killed at least six people, including two police officers, on Thursday in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri.