African Soldiers Train To Fight Boko Haram

 American and Spanish troops are currently training African soldiers on effective counter terrorism fight against Boko Haram insurgency at the yearly ‘Flintlock’ counter-terrorism drill.
The counter-insurgency exercises are a decade-old U.S. initiative to reinforce African country’s ability to battle militant groups operating in the vast uncontrolled spaces of the Sahara with training.

Photo: Reuters

“Even before the conflict with Boko Haram, we were preparing to face a group like them,” said the commander of the Chadian troops, Captain Zakaria Magada, whose Special Anti-Terrorist Group (SATG) is equipped and trained by the United States.

Photo: Reuters

“Boko Haram is just a militia of civilians. We are an organized army. They cannot face up to us.”

Photo: Reuters

Chad’s armed troops are among the most reputable in the area – a reputation counterfeit during decades of war and rebellions, and honed in a 2013 fight against al Qaeda-linked Islamists in the deserts of northern Mali.

Photo: Reuters

According to Reuters, efforts to build a regional African task force to tackle Boko Haram have been hampered by lack of group action between neighboring countries.

Photo: Reuters

With that in mind, trainers built into this year’s Flintlock a cross-border scene about tackling an insurgent group shaped on the Nigerian terrorists.
“It is all about African nations finding African solutions to their problems,” said Major General James Linder, head of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa. “We cannot do that for them.”

Photo: Reuters

While France has deployed some 3,000 troops in Africa to combat Islamic militants, the U.S. military has retained a lighter footprint: providing equipment and training to allies while participating in a few targeted missions.
The United States stepped up military colaboration with Nigeria after the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in the village of Chibok in April, 2014.

Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, Washington’s denial to sell Cobra attack helicopters, amid concerns over human rights abuses by the Nigerian army, enraged some in Africa’s most populous nation.

Photo: Reuters

“If we had enough guns and ammunition, the Nigerian army could finish Boko Haram in a week,” said a member of Nigeria’s elite Special Boat Services (SBS) attending Flintlock.

Photo: Reuters

As Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin prepare to start their 8,700-strong workforce next month, the United States is organising intelligence and equipment. A major shipment of helmets and bullet proof vests arrived in Cameroon this week.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters