Boko Haram Wounded, Not Dead Yet – US Envoy

The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, UNOWAS has said the terrorist group Boko Haram is wounded but not yet dead.

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and Head of UNOWAS, Mohamed Ibn Chambas made the statement while speaking with reporters in New York on the recent killings of Nigerians by Cameroonians over the payment of N100,000 boat levy.

Chambas, who said the relationship between the two countries have been cordial, advised that they both join forces in the fight against Boko Haram.

Cameroon, a neighboring country of Nigeria, has been a frequent target of Boko Haram fighters in recent years.

Over 200,000 Cameroonians from the Far North region have fled their homes in fear of the violence.

No fewer than 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million made homeless in the Lake Chad region, which includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, since the start of Boko Haram in 2009.

Although the Nigerian Army said it has defeated the Boko Haram insurgents especially in consideration that there were no longer camps of terrorist group anywhere in the North-Eastern part of the country, Chambas latest statement suggest that the military still has some more work to do.

Chambas said, “The relations between the two countries remain very good and we commend that and also we encourage their continuing collaboration on a bigger-ticket item – the fighting Boko Haram.

“We urge them to maintain this solidarity that they have with each other and to scale up the fight against Boko Haram, which is wounded but not dead yet,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chambas briefed the UN Security Council on Friday, that five field workers of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, CNMC were killed in January in attack by unidentified armed elements near Kuncha, a region believed to be unaffected by the Boko Haram threat.

“While investigation into the matter is ongoing, the UN is working closely with the authorities of Cameroon and Nigeria to strengthen the security protocol for the resumption of border pillar construction in the area,” he said.