Nigeria must accept it cannot defeat Boko Haram fighters alone and work with regional armies in a new multinational force, the United Nations envoy for the Sahel region said on Wednesday.

More than 13 000 people have been killed and more than one million made homeless by Boko Haram violence since 2009.

Earlier this month Nigerian security officials ruled out the need for a United Nations or African Union-backed force to fight Boko Haram, saying the country and its partners could handle the threat.

“Nigeria cannot handle the problem alone, Boko Haram is not only confined to Nigeria,” Hiroute Guebre Sellassie told AFP in the Ethiopian capital, where the African Union is preparing for leaders of the 54-member bloc to meet for a summit on Friday.

“We see a flood of refugees to Niger, Cameroon and even Chad,” she added, warning of a possible training camp in northern Mali.

Credit: AFP