ICC Note: Nigeria’s newly elected president, Muhammadu Buhari, has given his military chiefs a deadline of three months in their mission to defeat the extreme Islamist group Boko Haram. The group launched its insurgency in 2009, leading to the deaths of at least 17,000 people, according to Amnesty International. Attacks have been largely focused in northern Nigeria, but have also spread to neighboring countries including Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.
08/13/2015 Nigeria (BBC) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has given his new military chiefs a three-month deadline to defeat the Islamist militant Boko Haram group.
He gave the order at a swearing-in ceremony for the new service commanders he appointed last month.
When Mr Buhari took office in May, he vowed to tackle the six-year Islamist insurgency “head on”.
He has made a boosted multinational force of 8,700 central to his strategy in tackling the crisis.
At least 17,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in northern Nigeria 2009, according to Amnesty International.
Although the militants have lost their strongholds, they are still active and there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks since Mr Buhari took office.
There have also been more attacks in neighbouring states.
The BBC’s Randy Joe Sa’ah in Cameroon says suspected Boko Haram militants killed five villagers and a soldier on Wednesday night.
The militants entered the village of Lame, near the town of Fotokol in the Far North region, almost silently using horses and bicycles, a military source said.
