Boko Haram affected areas

Boko Haram fighters have waged new attacks on a series of towns and villages, killing at least 160 people. Й Reacting to the series of attacks in the northeastern states, President Muhammadu Buhari said the violence highlighted the need "to form a more effective international coalition against insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria and neighbouring countries".

An attack by suspected Islamist Boko Haram fighters in Niger has killed at least 38 people, officials say. Й Boko Haram is based in Nigeria but is being challenged by a multinational force, including soldiers from Niger.

Suicide bombers in ChadХs capital attacked security hubs Monday, killing at least 23 people in strikes that raised fears of a widening reach by the Islamist faction Boko Haram, reports said.

New Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari met his regional counterparts in Abuja on Thursday to set up a joint military force against Boko Haram, the latest sign of his intent to crush the Islamist militant group early in his tenure.

Five African countries have agreed to set up a joint military force led by Nigeria to fight the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Й Most of the troops will be from Nigeria with Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin also contributing.

A multinational force being set up to combat Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in the Lake Chad region will be operational in the coming weeks, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said on Tuesday.

More than 7,000 men and boys have died in Nigerian military custody during its fight against Boko Haram over the last four years, Amnesty International says.

Nigeria's army says it has cleared 10 more camps used by Boko Haram in the north-east of the country. Й The army has recaptured most of the vast area the militants had seized but the Islamists remain active.

Nigerian forces backed by warplanes invaded Islamist group Boko Haram's last known stronghold, the Sambisa forest, on Wednesday, in an effort to finally defeat their six-year-old insurgency, two military sources said.

Nigeria's newly-elected President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday his government would "spare no effort" to defeat Islamist militant group Boko Haram.