Boko Haram launches strikes near Cameroon border 

Thousands of members of Nigeria's Islamic extremist group Boko Haram have launched strikes across the border with Cameroon, with co-ordinated attacks on border towns, a troop convoy and a major barracks.

Further north, Boko Haram employs recruits from Chad to enforce its control in north-eastern Nigerian towns and cities.

In Niger, the government has declared a "humanitarian crisis" and appealed for international aid to help tens of thousands of Nigerian refugees driven from their homes by the insurgency.

These recent events show how neighbouring countries are increasingly being drawn into Nigeria's Islamic uprising.

Thousands of people have been killed in Nigeria's five year insurgency and some 1.6 million driven from their homes.

NEWS24