In a report just released, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said that two years ago Cameroon was being attacked by Boko Haram militants on an almost daily basis. But since September 2016, the number of attacks has fallen to between six and eight a month.

Back in 2014-15, as many as 1,000 Boko Haram fighters, with heavy weaponry and armored vehicles, joined attacks in Cameroon's Far North Region, the ICG said.

In the meantime, Boko Haram has suffered heavy losses and seen its conventional capacities reduced, partly because of the formation last year of 10,000 strong regional force with troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin.        

Up to 4,000 Cameroonians are thought to have joined Boko Haram and some were given bonuses of up to $2,000 (1,870 euros) and a motorbike. Those who proved their loyalty by killing their parents often enjoyed quick promotion, ICG said.   

DW has been talking to one of the report's authors, Hans De Marie Heungoup, who said that Cameroon and other Lake Chad countries should now be planning for the post-Boko Haram era. Abdullahi Tanko Bala began by asking him about the difficulties in fostering effective regional cooperation in the fight against the Islamist insurgency.