Nigeria Boko Haram crisis: President vows 'total war'
29 May 2014Last updated at 11:17
Boko Haram attacks have increased since a state of emergency was declared in the north-east a year ago
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to wage a "total war" against militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Speaking on the the 15th anniversary of the end of military rule, he said "international terrorism" threatened Nigeria's democratic gains.
Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
The group has been holding more than 200 schoolgirls captive since last month, demanding a prisoner swap.
Earlier this week, the BBC learned that the government called off a deal to swap some of the girls for Boko Haram fighters in custody.
'Hard-earned lessons'
"With the support of Nigerians, our neighbours and the international community, we will reinforce our defence, free our girls and rid Nigeria of terrorists," Mr Jonathan said, in a televised speech to mark Democracy Day.
Many towns and villages have been razed to the ground in the north-east
He added that he was determined to protect Nigeria's democracy.
"I have instructed our security forces to launch a full-scale operation to put an end to the impunity of terrorists on our soil," he said.
Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013, deploying more troops to the three northern states where Boko Haram is most active - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Boko Haram retaliated by stepping up its bombing campaign in cities and launching mass attacks on small towns and villages.
In a major foreign policy speech on Wednesday, US President Barack Obama saidthat "no American security operation can eradicate the threat" posed by Boko Haram.
"That is why we must focus both on rescuing those girls, but also on supporting Nigerian efforts to educate its youth," he said.
"Indeed, this should be one of the hard-earned lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, where our military became the strongest advocate for diplomacy and development," Mr Obama added.