Boko Haram affected areas

Nigeria has brought in hundreds of mercenaries from South Africa and the former Soviet Union to give its offensive against Boko Haram a shot in the arm before a March 28 election, according to regional security, defence and diplomatic sources.

If approved, the new force would receive U.N. funding and would be likely to result in a bigger and better resourced operation than the offensive currently being mounted against the militants by Nigeria and its neighbours.

Troops from Chad and Niger have taken two northeastern Nigerian towns after bloody fighting that has left some 200 Boko Haram fighters dead, a Chadian security source has said.

The exodus of Nigerians fleeing violence in the countryХs north-eastern regions continues amid an influx of sixteen thousand refugees into neighbouring Cameroon, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has reported.

At last, Nigeria and its neighbours - Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin - have a plan for their Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to fight Boko Haram's Islamist militants. The plan has now been approved by the African Union. But what are the chances that this 8,700-strong regional force will root out an insurgency responsible for the death of tens of thousands in recent years?

Military chiefs from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Niger are finalising their strategy for a 8,750-strong regional force to tackle the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. In the last few weeks, the Multinational Joint Task Force has retaken several towns captured by the militants in north-eastern Nigeria. Now, the regional chiefs are preparing for a major ground and air offensive due to start next month - and are meeting in Chad this week to set out the command structure. The force will be led by a Nigerian commander, after which the position will rotate among the members.

Niger, Chad and Cameroon are seeking to pin down Boko Haram within Nigeria's borders ahead of a ground-and-air offensive by a regional taskforce due to start from the end of next month, a senior Niger military official told Reuters.

Earlier this week, the commander of U.S. Special Forces operations in Africa pledged to help African nations in the fight against the group.

Researchers say Boko Haram might have thousands more fighters than estimated by intelligence services. Their pockets are lined with cash, thanks to bank robberies and looting in the towns that fall under their control. They also have a supply of arms stolen from the Nigerian military, and some that come all the way from Libya through the Sahel, reportedly linked to other radical armed groups.

France has sent military advisers to Niger's southern border with Nigeria to help coordinate military action by regional powers fighting the Islamist group Boko Haram, a French army official said on Thursday.