Boko Haram: Cameroon and Nigeria join forces

Coordination between the Cameroonian and Nigerian army has improved in border areas affected by the group Islamic State in West Africa (Boko Haram).

Relations between the two countries have long been soured by the dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula. But a military tactical cooperation was facilitated by the resumption of a more cordial diplomatic relations, just after the inauguration of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who visited Cameroon late July.

Cameroonian contingents have supported the growth of the Nigerian army that ousted Boko Haram from several towns in recent weeks. Our reporter visited the border between Cameroon and Nigeria, Amchide and Banki.

Amchide is a ghost town. It suffered several attacks carried out by hordes of insurgents. Tall grass grown in the driveway lined with abandoned shops, the central market today looks like a movie studio. On the other side of the border is Banki, which was freed September 25 by the Nigerian military, working closely with Cameroon.

"We had a very good coordination," said a captain in the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), the elite unit of Cameroon. "It was necessary that we are aware of their operation and not to be surprised by Nigerians while progressing in Banki Bama, and that if necessary, we try to redirect their fire to protect our populations. We were in constant communication with their forces to the point where, after the reconquest of the Nigerian army of Banki, we could create a station at Banki. We went with our men, and we were able to trade either tactically and in terms of needs."

No right of action

Cameroonian contingents do not have the right to continue hunting insurgent fighters who after raids in Cameroon, run to Nigeria. According to indiscretions, the Cameroonian government insists because it implies that the Nigerian military has, too, the right to cross the border. Mistrust is still required, but it does not prevent some pooling of efforts.

"Coordination with Nigeria is excellent today. This has not always been the case, and we regret the beginning of the crisis. Improving cooperation mainly is the result of a desire expressed by the heads of state of our two countries," says General Jacob Kodji, commander of inter-armed forces in the Far North region.

Shared information

The Cameroonian army does not shout it out from the rooftops, but it has impounded positions of Boko Haram in Banki, upstream of the offensive against Nigeria. The information was also shared.

"Because of the terrain and weather conditions, there are areas that are difficult for Nigerian forces. So sometimes they ask us, from our positions, to make observations with the naked eye or with binoculars or other means that we have, and then we send them what we find."

The Cameroonian army also raked its own border area before the offensive against Nigeria in Banki.

Finally, a fact which is nothing trivial, our patrol aided Nigerian soldiers who came on foot to the Cameroon side for treatment at the military base of Amchide.