More engagement in fighting Boko Haram

Hanatu Maracus comes from Gwoza, a region that has been under the terror group Boko Haram for more than two months and now lives in a refugee camp near the northeastern Nigerian city of Yola. With a terrified face she describes her last few weeks' experiences. Her husband has been killed and two of her seven children are missing and she lives in a refugee camp.

"They came and surrounded the whole area," recalled Hanatu Maracus. "My husband had actually been brought to safety. Then he came back to check on us. It was then when they killed him."

A short-lived ceasefire

The Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram has been fighting against the government in the northeast of Nigeria. This year alone, the group has killed more than 2,500 people – mostly civilians such as Hanatu Maracus' husband. A glimmer of hope sprang up about two weeks ago when Alex Badeh, Chief of the General Staff of the Nigerian Army, announced a ceasefire agreement between the government and the Islamists. The agreement, however, was short-lived. Just a day later, new attacks by boko Haram in which several people died, were reported.

During his visit to Nigeria, Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who is travelling together with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, made it clear that Germany wants to get more involved in Nigeria. "We were urgently asked to give assistance programs for traumatized victims of Boko Haram. Germany and France could work together on this," said Steinmeier. Talks are also underway on how the two countries could help in training police officers and in border management. This is because many Boko Haram fighters normally cross the boarder to neighboring countries such as Cameroon, soon after they have carried out attacks on the Nigerian soil.

Joint travel as a sign of close cooperation

After talking to political and civil society representatives, it become clear to Steinmeier that it is difficult to negotiate a truce with Boko Haram. "There are obviously competing groups within the organization and also free riders," said the Foreign Minister. Therefore, more relevant groups within the organizational structure of Boko Haram should be included in the peace negotiations.

France has been trying for months to improve the security situation in the region. In May, French President Francois Hollande invited his Nigerian counterpart Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders from the region to a crisis summit in Paris. Among other things, a common "action plan" against the Islamists was chartered out, but little has happened so far.

A desperate call from a refugee

In spite of everything, Hanatu Maracus together with her children, hope that they will soon be returning home - she also expects more support from abroad. But she still doubts the Nigerian government's political will, to work with all its might to pacify the region. "All I can do is to implore our leaders to end our suffering so that we together with our families can live in peace."