海角大神

Niger鈥檚 government has opened an official investigation into an airstrike that killed 36 civilians in the town of Abadam earlier this week, a move that could destabilize the multinational military force tasked with defeating the Islamic militant group Boko Haram.

On Tuesday, mourners were gathering for a funeral in Abadam聽when an unidentified military plane bombed them, likely mistaking them for members of Boko Haram. The village鈥檚 deputy mayor blamed the Nigerian military, Reuters reports, though his allegation remains unverified. The Nigerian government has yet to comment on who they believe is at fault.

鈥淚t's not to my knowledge and there has not been any report from our people of such an incident,鈥� Dele Alonge, a spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force,聽told the BBC.

Niger announced three days of mourning to honor the victims, starting Thursday. Its government聽opened the investigation after Central African heads of state finalized their plan to create a joint military strategy earlier this week, announcing that they had contributed more than half of the $100 million needed to fight Boko Haram.

The leaders called on Nigeria to allow the multinational joint task force to attack Boko Haram in the country. This would allow Niger, Chad, and Cameroon to pin down Boko Haram within Nigeria's borders ahead of a ground-and-air offensive that's due to start next month, a Niger military official told Reuters.

Coordinating the different militaries has been difficult. At the launch of the US military鈥檚 annual training exercise on Tuesday, Col. George Thiebes, a special operations commander聽in West Africa, said one of the biggest challenges is helping armies from different countries work together. Radio systems and finding common vocabulary even when troops speak the same language are among the hurdles facing multinational forces in Africa, he told The Associated Press.

The campaign against Boko Haram has gained momentum with a string of recent successes. Nigerian warplanes bombed training camps and equipment belonging to the extremist group in the northeastern Sambisa Forest on Thursday.

鈥淭he death of a large number of terrorists has been recorded while many others are also scampering all over the forest,鈥� defense spokesman Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade said.

More friction could be caused by the praise the Chadian Army has received since joining the campaign. Known for its military prowess, Chadian troops on Tuesday successfully fought their way into the town of Dikwa, which has been overtaken by militants for the past five months. The New York Times reports:

Deciding whether to accept assistance from foreign countries became a question of pride for Nigeria once the African Union agreed to send forces last month. Nigeria has typically been the one to offer aid, not receive it.

Nigeria鈥檚 fight against Boko Haram is a major factor in the runup to the upcoming presidential election. Many, including presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari, blame President Goodluck Jonathan for the government鈥檚 failure to stamp out the group. Mr. Buhari, a retired Army general, has promised to personally lead the fight against the militants if elected.