The U.S. met with five West African countries along with France and United Kingdom on Saturday in Paris to coordinate a "multi-state crackdown on Boko Haram", an Islamic Extremist group that kidnapped 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria last month.

Boko Haram, which translates to "Western education is sin," is a militant organization based in Nigeria that abducted school girls and later released photos and videos of them publically.

Following the release of the photos, international outrage commenced that included support shown by the public through the use of social media with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

The abduction, which has attracted worldwide attention, is as disturbing as it is difficult to create a solution for.

The meeting between the nations was led by French President François Hollande and heads of state of Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Benin and Nigeria. U.S. and E.U. representatives were also present.

The meeting was a rare one because until Saturday morning's summit the West African countries were not so cooperative with one another.

The meeting was requested by President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, who stated, "Without West African countries coming together, we will not be able to crush these terrorists."

The meeting included discussing a medium long-term plan "on sharing surveillance information, intelligence and military resources."

The U.S. has "pledged to assist with reconnaissance and intelligence but stopped short of offering military support," according to TIME. This means that the West will provide technical expertise and training while the West African countries share intelligence and border surveillance.