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The United States on Thursday disclosed that it would send up to $45 million in defence services, including military training, to support African countries in their efforts to defeat the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram.
Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria will receive support that builds on the training and military equipment the United States has already supplied in the fight against the group, White House National Security Council spokesman, Ned Price, said in a statement.
Soldiers were deployed alongside troops from neighbours Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger to tackle the militant group and end the six-year insurgency that has killed thousands.
Boko Haram, which calls itself the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) since pledging allegiance to the militant group that controls large areas of Syria and Iraq, has stepped up attacks in countries around Lake Chad Basin area in recent months in response to the regional offensive.