Mainstream news outlets have diligently covered the Canadian armed forces’ mission in Iraq (and Syria), reporting the sorties of CF-18 fighter jets on Islamic State (ISIS) positions. There are credible rumors that Canadian troops have also experienced action on the ground against ISIS militants. However, that same media has been less attentive about the fact that in the last days of February, Canadian Special Forces were active in southeastern Niger, on the border with Nigeria, where they have been training Nigerian forces to confront the Islamist group Boko Haram. The Nigerian Islamist militant group has been extending beyond its traditional operating theatre of Borno state in Nigeria to bordering territories in Niger, Cameroon, and possibly Mali – some of the largest countries of the Sahel. The region’s instability in the wake of the collapse of the Qadhafi regime in Libya has made it almost impossible to control borders, facilitating Boko Haram’s expansion beyond Nigeria and allowing militants to operate in the region with virtual impunity.

Canadian soldiers (part of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, – CSOR) were operating in the area near Diffa, on the border with Nigeria, where, last February 11, the government of Niger declared a state of emergency in response to Boko Haram attacks in the border region adjacent to northeastern Nigeria – an area considered to be one of the group’s strongholds.

Canada is present in Niger as part of an international training exercise known as ‘Flintlock,’ which has been operating since February 16. It is being led by the United States and includes military personnel from 19 countries, distributed across the territory of five Sahel state. The number of Canadian soldiers involved in the operation is unclear, but CSOR troops participating in previous Flintlock operations numbered no more than a few dozen. On February 27, they were re-deployed away from Diffa, towards Agadez and Niamey in Niger, and N’Djamena in Chad as a precautionary measure. Nigeria, meanwhile, has amassed 3,000 of its soldiers in the delicate Diffa border region.