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| The presence of mercenaries from South Africa and the former Soviet Union adds to the broad array of forces lining up against Boko Haram |
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.
Rumours about the use of foreign
"soldiers of fortune" against the Islamist militant group gained
substance this month when pictures surfaced on Twitter showing armoured
vehicles rumbling along a street in what was said to be Maiduguri, the regional
capital of Nigeria's Boko Haram-hit northeast.
In one photo that appeared on Twitter on
March 6, a white man in a khaki tee-shirt and body armour is shown beside a
heavy-calibre machine gun on top of one of the sand-coloured vehicles as the
column drives through the streets at dusk.
A Reuters reporter with knowledge of
Maiduguri was able to verify the location of the photo as the Bama road,
leading southeast out of the city, near the University of Maiduguri.
Election campaign posters of Borno state
governor Kashim Shettima hanging from street lights indicate it was taken
recently. The lights, notable for their ornate ironwork, were only installed
last year.
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| Foreign Mercenaries were involved in the deployment, which comes after the six-week postponement of elections in mid-February due to the threat from Boko Haram |
In confirming the presence of hundreds of
foreign military contractors on the ground, including recently in the city of
Maiduguri, security and diplomatic sources put the total much higher than the
hundred or so previously reported.
Nigerian government spokesman Mike Omeri
declined to comment, referring questions to military spokesman Chris Olukolade,
who also declined to respond to multiple requests for comment.
In an interview with Voice of America late
on Wednesday, President Goodluck Jonathan said two companies were providing
"trainers and technicians" to help Nigerian forces. He did not name
the firms, or the nationalities, or give numbers.
But a West African security source and a
South African defence source said the foreign troops were linked to the bosses
of former South African private military firm Executive Outcomes.
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| Several hundred foreigners were involved in running major offensive operations against Boko Haram |
Executive Outcomes was best-known for its
involvement in Angola's 1975-2002 civil war and against Revolutionary United
Front rebels in an internal conflict in Sierra Leone in 1995. It disbanded in
1998, under pressure from the post-apartheid government in Pretoria to curtail
mercenary activities.
The West African security source said
several hundred foreigners were involved in running major offensive operations
against Boko Haram, and were being paid around $400 a day in cash.
Their impact on the fighting so far could
not be quantified, but the general run of the campaign has seen the tide turn
somewhat against Boko Haram in recent weeks.
©Reuters
