US GENERAL: BOKO HARAM MOST LETHAL TERROR GROUP IN THE WORLD
US GENERAL: BOKO HARAM MOST
LETHAL TERROR GROUP IN THE WORLD
The issue of Boko Haram’s power
came up at a press briefing held in the US on Thursday on anti-terror efforts of
the US government and made available to THISDAY yesterday by the US embassy.
The military commander spoke on US efforts to reinforce development, diplomacy,
and defence, including the Flintlock, an annual exercise in Africa, and noted
that the US had shifted its focus of training from tactical proficiency of
small units to command and control of joint forces.
“Likewise, we have participants
from the Multinational Joint Headquarters in N’Djamena that address the threats
of ISIS West Africa, which is really in North-eastern Nigeria, and Boko Haram,
its predecessor….which is the most lethal terrorist organisation in the world,
in Lake Chad,” General Hicks remarked.
When asked why Nigeria and other
African nations are so important to the US, the American Ambassador to Niger,
Eric Whitaker, at the conference said: “I think Africa is important to US’
national security for a variety of reasons. We have a long, historic
relationship with the African continent and its 54 countries, keeping in mind
that no less than 13 per cent of our US population derives from the mother
continent. Africa, a continent of over 1 billion residents, is a continent with
which we have important relationships, whether it’s in diplomacy, development,
or defence for several decades now.
“We wish to expand trade with
these countries, including through the AGOA, the Africa Growth and Opportunity
Act, to help countries develop their economies through trade. We also have
humanitarian assistance to help countries who have food insecurity situations,
for example.”
Hicks added that the training
focused on members of the G5 Sahel and the Multinational Joint Task Force,
around Lake Chad with eye on Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa.
Speaking further, he said: “We
hope and plan to exercise command and control over tactical units at the joint
multinational headquarters, which will be located in Agadez, and this will be
the first year that Flintlock’s training audience will actually exercise
command and control over tactical units in a scenario.
“The scenarios will be based on
real-world threats of the violent extremist organisations currently threatening
our partner nations in the greater Sahel…. We also believe in the D3 approach,
and as we bring a defence aspect to enable diplomacy and development, we also
bring in training our African partners in military information support
operations in order to counter the extremist messaging and to promote defection
from extremist organisations.”