Fight Against IS in West Africa Still Lacks Strategic Leadership

At least 32 people were killed and dozens wounded on Monday, January 25, 2015, after four suicide vests were detonated in a crowded market in the Cameroon town, Bodo. There has been no official claim of responsibility, but it is suspected Islamic State Province of West Africa (ISPWA), better known as Boko Haram, is behind the attack.

This attack marks the 41^st attack in Cameroon in just 6 months.

• October 11, 2015 two suicide attacks killed 11 in Kangeleri.

• November 11, 2015, Two separate attacks killed 11 people, 10 citizens and 1 soldier. In Dabanga, two explosive vests, attached to two women, were set off near a military base killing six. Just hours later ISPWA fighters struck the town of Gouzoudou killing five.

• On January 13, ISPWA detonated a suicide bomb in an attack on a mosque in the town of Kouyape killing 12.

It is not clear if any of these attackers were directly involved with ISPWA or forced to wear a suicide vest against their will. ISPWA may be forcing people, especially women, to wear these vests without risk of losing any supporters.

Cameroon, along with Niger, Nigeria, Benin, and Chad, is a part of a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) that has pledged to combat ISPWA. MNJTF finalized its mandate in early 2015, but Cameroon had been engaged with ISPWA since late 2014 when the Cameroonian military launched its first air strikes on ISPWA.

MNJTF has been plagued by a lack of cooperation from the start, with disagreements over command and overall strategy. Coordination efforts have seemed to worsen in recent months after it was reported the Nigerian government declined to create a buffer zone along the border region of Cameroon and Nigeria. The buffer zone would be clear of citizens, and anyone caught in area would be killed. Soon after the buffer zone proposal was declined roughly 200 Nigerian citizens were killed by the Cameroonian military searching for ISPWA fighters.

The lack of coordination in plans and strategy between Nigeria and Cameroon could be a disaster for citizens in both Cameroon and Nigeria. If Cameroon continues to kill innocent civilians, whether intentional or not, they will run the risk of starting a larger conflict with the Nigerian government or worse, drive people to join ISPWA.

ISPWA’s violent insurgency has displaced over one million Nigerians. Some of these displaced people have been crossing the border into Cameroon and setting up refugee camps.

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) lists around 20,000 Nigerian refugees within Cameroon. Taking in refugees, while noble, presents a major issue to Cameroon’s counterterrorism efforts.

The large influx of refugees provides the perfect cover for ISPWA fighters. Terrorists could easily enter the country and carry out further attacks from inside Cameroon. This problem will force Cameroon to further tighten its borders and be more suspicious of those who are crossing over. These increased suspicions could lead to more unintentional killings of Nigerian citizens.

There has also been a large influx of refugees from neighboring Central African Republic (CAR). The UNHCR lists nearly 200,000 refugees in Cameroon from CAR. This poses a problem since Cameroon has diverted valuable resources, especially from the military, to keep the refugee camps in order.

Cameroon, first and foremost, must work on its coordination with Nigeria. If the two nations continue to not cooperate no meaningful progress will be made against ISPWA. By coordinating efforts on the border region, Cameroon will be able to focus more efforts on its refugee crisis knowing it has help on the border.

Without any change in the near future, Cameroon and Nigeria are going to continue to see their countries picked apart. Fighting terrorism is never easy, but having a well coordinated MNJTF to help with counterterrorism efforts could lessen the damage inflicted by ISPWA.