France Wants to Organize an Alliance of African Nations to Fight Boko Haram

French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called for Nigeria and its neighbors to improve military coordination in the fight against Boko Haram.

Speaking Monday in Dakar, Senegal at the first International Forum on Peace and Security, Le Drian urged African leaders to take action.

"There is a serious threat to the integrity of Nigeria and for its neighbors, be it Cameroon, Niger or Chad," Le Drian told reporters.

"For this reason," he added, "we'd like to see a military liaison committee set up between the authorities of these four countries to help coordinate their action and their response capacity." France has pledged to provide several officers to help oversee the proposed liaison committee.

France already has a military presence in the region in the form of Operation Barkhane, an anti-Islamist campaign across Africa's Sahel region that is headquartered in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. Launched in July 2014, Operation Barkhane replaced another French military campaign, Operation Serval, which was aimed at ridding northern Mali of militants.

Boko Haram blamed for another bombing in Nigeria, killing 30. Read more here.

The threat of Boko Haram has spilled across Nigeria's borders into Niger to the north, and Cameroon to the east. Chad, which borders all three countries, could soon be dragged into the conflict.

The four countries pledged earlier this year to mobilize a 2,800-strong force to tackle Boko Haram, and to share intelligence and coordinate response efforts. Each country was supposed to provide 700 troops, but, nearly five months later, the army still hasn't materialized.

According to a recent BBC investigation, attacks carried out by Boko Haram killed 786 people in November alone.

Since its creation in 2002, Boko Haram has carried out numerous abductions and massacres, and is classified as a terrorist group by the US State Department. The group advocates a strict form of Sharia law, and seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria.

The group is infamous for abducting young girls, who they marry off to fighters or sell as slaves. Since 2009, the militants have abducted some 500 women in northern Nigeria. The most high profile kidnapping occurred in mid-April, when 273 young girls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok, a town in northeast Nigeria. While some victims managed to escape, 230 are still missing.

Boko Haram plans to massacre 100,000 Nigerians with female suicide bombers. Read more here.

Beyond the isolated threat of Boko Haram, Monday's forum in Senegal was a chance for African leaders to take stock of the various extremist organizations operating across the continent. According to RFI, officials have documented 16 active armed groups, including Somalia's al Shabaab. There were also 342 attacks on the continent in 2013, and 3,400 deaths in the past six months, including 2,400 in the northern Sahara region.

Philippe Hugon, research director at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), told VICE News that, "France does not have the capacity to lead a war against terrorists, which cannot be won with a traditional military approach."

"These wars should be fought with land warfare — not from a distance," Hugon said. "But France can provide support, like information and equipment. The real issue at stake is the sinews of war — i.e. who is going to foot the bill."

The gathering in Senegal brought together more than 350 heads of state, policy makers, researchers, reporters, and entrepreneurs from more than 40 countries. Hugon described it as "a forum to exchange ideas," not "a place where political decisions are made."

The US and France are teaming up to fight a sprawling war on terror in Africa. Read more here.

In addition to Operation Barkhane, France is also conducting a peacekeeping campaign in the Central African Republic (CAR). The mission — dubbed Operation Sankaris — was launched in December 2013 and aims to stem fighting between primarily Muslim Seleka rebels and mainly Christian anti-balaka militias. France announced earlier this month that it will downscale its troop presence in the CAR as United Nations peacekeepers move in.

"It is important that African nations manage their own security," Le Drian said In an interview with the website Jeune Afrique. "They need the means to ensure that kind of sovereignty, which is why they need structured armies that serve the State — not tribal armies. This requires some level of armament."

The UN currently has 110,000 peacekeepers mobilized across Africa, and is involved in nine peacekeeping campaigns.

Follow Mélodie Bouchaud on Twitter: @Meloboucho