Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls, is no longer a local threat but has become West Africa's al-Qaida, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said on Saturday. "Boko Haram is no longer a local terrorist group, it is an al-Qaida of West Africa," Jonathan said at a news conference in Paris after a meeting of West African leaders on the issue.

French President Francois Hollande also said that Boko Haram had "established links" to al-Qaida and urged countries in the region to devise a common strategy to combat its threat. "Boko Haram has become a major threat for all of West Africa and now for central Africa," Hollande said. "Its links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and other terrorist organizations have been established."

Reuters - AFP