Nigeria names head of regional force to fight Boko Haram.

Nigeria said Thursday it has appointed a general to lead a new multinational task force created to fight Boko Haram in the face of a surge of devastating attacks.The announcement came as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was in Cameroon in a bid to forge a stronger regional alliance against the Islamists.

Major-General Iliya Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the five-nation force, Nigerian military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said.

The Multi-National Joint Task Force, made up of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, is expected to be more effective than a current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram's six-year insurgency, which has claimed some 15,000 lives.

In a joint statement after their talks in Yaounde, Buhari and Cameroon's President Paul Biya expressed "their common determination to eradicate Boko Haram... and agreed to intensify the exchange of information between the two countries."

They will also beef up security along their shared border, the statement added.

A banner in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde reads 'Nigeria - an ally in the fight against terrro …

Asked when the new regional force would go into action, Buhari said: "It should ready today or tomorrow, by the end of this month."

But he added: "After the promises of G7 countries to help the region defeat Boko Haram, we are waiting for training, equipment and intelligence assistance."
Buhari visited Washington last week but returned empty-handed because the United States is prohibited by law from sending weapons to countries that fail to tackle human rights abuses, a stance the Nigerian leader said was helping Boko Haram.