Buhari Visits Cameroon as Boko Haram Attacks Continue

In the past few days alone, Boko Haram activity has killed at least 60 people in Cameroon. The local government in the Far North region, where the attacks took place, has closed some mosques, banned burqas, and forbidden begging as a means to control the violence. The group has also continued to kill people in Nigeria, taking the lives of 29 people in Christian villages in the northeast on July 27.

The attacks come as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visits Cameroon for the first time since he assumed office. He intends work on a strategy for countering Boko Haram while also strengthening ties between the his country and Cameroon, which borders Nigeria in the east.

Nigeria and Cameroon have had a poor relationship for decades, after conflict arose out of a border dispute in 1993. Cameroonian President Paul Biya did not attend Buhari’s inauguration. Buhari visited Chad and Niger, two other countries involved in the fight against Boko Haram, two months prior to this trip to Cameroon. Cameroon extended an invitation to visit in June when he visited the other two countries and was insulted when he turned it down; a spokesman for Buhari said that he had a prior commitment in Germany.

Nigeria has accused Cameroon of complacency in regards to Boko Haram by allowing the group to use its territory as a safe haven. In return, Cameroon says that Nigeria will not let troops pursue Boko Haram militants across their shared border, but that Niger and Chad are allowed to do so.

However, in a month, another coalition force composed of 8,700 troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria will become active. The force has had difficulty starting its operations due to funding disputes. Additionally, Cameroon announced on July 28 that it would send 2,000 more troops to its northern border with Nigeria to fight Boko Haram.

As the Center for Security Policy has previously stated, “There is a dire need for meaningful progress and cooperation between all countries involved in this coalition against the jihadist militant group.” Boko Haram was forced out of much of its territorial holdings earlier this year, but it has started seizing land again and is capable of killing many more civilians. The countries involved in the fight against the Boko Haram must work together to secure victory. Undermining each other in an attempt to revive old political disputes will only hurt their greater mission and cause further damage to their countries and people.