US, Nigeria to join forces against Boko Haram
The United States will support Nigeria’s battle against Boko Haram but will not send troops.
Its Ambassador, Terrence P. McCulley, said the U.S. encourages Nigeria to reach out to residents in the North, especially the poor, while using security forces to target and apprehend terrorists.
He said the U.S. is also considering opening a consulate in Kano to burnish America’s own image among a people still suspicious about Western influence.
Nigeria has been under increasing attack from members of Boko Haram.
At least 185 people died in Kano last month in the group’s deadliest assault yet.
Six policemen were reported to have been killed yesterday in Kano and Minna, Niger State.
The U.S. is working with the police to help them learn how to carry out forensic investigations, while a bomb expert from the FBI has been working with authorities on how to detect explosives planted by the group before they detonate, McCulley said.
The U.S. also would be open to training Nigeria’s military in counter-terror techniques, though the country hasn’t asked for that assistance, the ambassador said.
Intelligence-gathering also remains a concern for the U.S. in Nigeria, especially after a failure by American authorities to take seriously a warning about Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before he boarded a U.S.-bound flight that he attempted to bring down with a bomb in 2009.
While McCulley declined to give details, he said “adequate systems” were now in place to receive such warnings and that the U.S. maintained “robust relations” with Nigerian intelligence agencies.
The United States will support Nigeria’s battle against Boko Haram but will not send troops.
Its Ambassador, Terrence P. McCulley, said the U.S. encourages Nigeria to reach out to residents in the North, especially the poor, while using security forces to target and apprehend terrorists.
He said the U.S. is also considering opening a consulate in Kano to burnish America’s own image among a people still suspicious about Western influence.
Nigeria has been under increasing attack from members of Boko Haram.
At least 185 people died in Kano last month in the group’s deadliest assault yet.
Six policemen were reported to have been killed yesterday in Kano and Minna, Niger State.
The U.S. is working with the police to help them learn how to carry out forensic investigations, while a bomb expert from the FBI has been working with authorities on how to detect explosives planted by the group before they detonate, McCulley said.
The U.S. also would be open to training Nigeria’s military in counter-terror techniques, though the country hasn’t asked for that assistance, the ambassador said.
Intelligence-gathering also remains a concern for the U.S. in Nigeria, especially after a failure by American authorities to take seriously a warning about Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before he boarded a U.S.-bound flight that he attempted to bring down with a bomb in 2009.
While McCulley declined to give details, he said “adequate systems” were now in place to receive such warnings and that the U.S. maintained “robust relations” with Nigerian intelligence agencies.
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