American military intervention in Cameroon

The American military intervention in Cameroon started in October 2015, when President Barack Obama ordered U.S. forces to be dispatched to the region, in order to support African forces in a non-combat role, in their war against Islamist militants in West Africa.

Background
From 2009, the slowly simmering Boko Haram insurgency grew greatly. From 2013 the local Islamist insurgency became large enough to threaten regional stability. In 2015, Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram pledged loyalty to ISIS, prompting great American concern.

2015
With the invitation of the Cameroonian government secured in early October, the US began to deploy 300 troops. The troops' primary missions will revolve around providing intelligence support to local forces as well as conducting reconnaissance flights.

The troops are also overseeing a program to transfer American military vehicles to the Cameroonian Army to aid in their fight against Islamists.