Terror strikes Africa again, West African countries forge coalition

In a series of suicide attacks in Nigeria and Cameroon, more than 50 people were estimated to have been killed, signaling a spurt in increasing extremism across a wide swathe of the continent.

Boko Haram is suspected to be behind these attacks. The terror canrage comes in the backdrop of Boko Haram releasing videos on the social networking site Twitter, where it claimed that they were not defeated and said, “We will be coming from where you never expected, stronger than before.”

Boko Haram is among prime drivers of terrorism in the region, which also include outfits like Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and al-Shabaab. Boko Haram deploys Wahabbi Islam for radical proselytization and is waging a war against what it calls “the evil secular government in Nigeria.” In an hour-long video released on August 24, Boko Haram’s emir, Abubakar Shekau, declared his intention to establish the world’s second Islamic “caliphate.”

Anti-terror coalition

In the wake of rising terror attacks in the region, five west African countries, including Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, have decided to jointly deploy their forces in the region by July 30 to take on the terrorist group which has killed thousands over the past few years through insurgency. On July 12, two women in Cameroon wearing full veil blew themselves up near the Nigerian border in Cameroon and killed nearly a dozen people including a soldier from neighbouring country Chad. Since then the authorities in these countries have banned the use of full faced veils.

The attacks also come just a few days after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari met President Barack Obama, with the latter pledging support for Buhari’s campaign to combat terrorism. Lauding the Nigerian leader, Obama underlined that Mr Buhari has a clear agenda to defeat Boko Haram and other extremists in the country.

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