Boko Haram affected areas

[Й] The troops from Benin will act as a reserve rapid intervention force and are the last from the five countries involved in the African Union-led force to be deployed.

The United States has offered to send a special operations mission to Nigeria to help the West African country fight Islamist militant group Boko Haram, the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) said on Friday.

So far donors, including Nigeria and France, have pledged about $250 million to fund the 8,700-strong regional force Й That covers just over a third of the $700 million budget announced for the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) last year.

Й Benin is set to join the regional fight against Boko Haram shortly with the deployment of 800 soldiers to insurgency hot-beds in northern Nigeria. Speaking after holding bilateral security co-operation talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Cotonou on Wednesday, Benin President Boni Yayi said 800 troops will join the Nigerian-led JMNTF.

Cameroon says its troops have killed 100 Boko Haram militants and freed 900 captives that were held by the Nigeria-based militant group. Й There has been no independent confirmation of the claim.

Boko Haram and Islamic State (IS) were jointly responsible for 51% of all claimed global terror fatalities in 2014, with Boko Haram taking over IS as the worldХs deadliest terror group with 7 500 deaths last year. This is according to a new report indicating terrorism is at its highest level ever.

"They will take advantage of the end of the rainy season now to really go after them," said Mohamed Ibn Chambas, U.N. Special Representative for West Africa Й The 8,700-strong joint force, headquartered in Chad's capital N'Djamena with troops from Chad, Niger, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, was supposed to be fully functional in July.

American soldiers have begun training units of Niger's army at the edge of the Sahara Desert, in what a U.S. official calls a Тnew waveУ of military support for African states battling Boko Haram militants.

In a letter to Congress, Mr. Obama said that the troops would provide Тintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissanceУ in the region. The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said that the troops would be armed for their protection but that they would not engage in combat.

The humanitarian fallout from the violence inflicted by Boko Haram is the fastest growing crisis in Africa, a senior United Nations relief official warned today, appealing for concerted action on the humanitarian, security and development fronts to tackle the situation.