GEOPolitical News: AFRICA North-east Nigeria - Dozens more killed in suspected Boko Haram attack

AFRICA North-east Nigeria - Dozens more killed in suspected Boko Haram attack
By Iain Fraser - Consultant Editor,  GEOPoliticalMatters.com
European News & Media Centre, Málaga
Google Indexed at 12:56 on 100620

At least 69 people reported killed in a suspected jihadist attack in North-east Nigeria.


Fighters entered the small, remote village of Faduma Koloram, in Gubio local government area of Borno state, North-east Nigeria yesterday afternoon [Tuesday, 9th June 2020] at about noon [Local Time] killing dozens. The gunmen stormed the village in vehicles and on motorcycles, firing their AK-47s into the air, razed the village and stole an estimated 1,200 cattle and camels.

Borno State, Nigeria

But the livestock pales into insignificance compared to the needless loss of life, latest advice from Reuters is that 69 have been killed in what intelligence sources think is a reprisal attack. They have reported that the militants suspected villagers of sharing information about their movements to security forces, while AFP said "jihadist fighters had been killed by locals trying to protect livestock."

While no group has yet claimed the attack it bears all the hallmarks of Boko Haram or its offshoot which fights under the banner of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) who have both been responsible for many deadly attacks in the North-east of the Country.

The current UK Foreign Office Threat Assessment states that "Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Nigeria. Attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect western interests, as well as places visited by tourists."

There is a continued threat from extremist groups operating in the region. "The al Qaeda-linked" terrorist group Jamaat al Ansar al Muslimeen fi Bilad al Sudan, better known as ANSARU, has previously carried out attacks and kidnappings, including that of westerners, across northern Nigeria. The most recent attack was in mid-January 2020 when ANSARU claimed to have killed at least six people, kidnapped dozens, and destroyed several vehicles during an ambush along the Kaduna-Zaira highway in Kaduna State. At this point details remain unclear and fatality figures may rise."

The threat assessment concludes with this salutory note "Most attacks take place in Northern and North-east Nigeria; there has been an increase in insurgent attacks in Borno State."

Numerous terrorist attacks have been carried out against public buildings and security forces in the country in the last year. Since 2017, killings of civilians by armed groups have been reported in Cabo Delgado, leaving around 350 people dead and more than 150,000 others affected by the violence, according to rights group Amnesty International.

The Ongoing fight against Boko Haram
The group's decade-long insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced many more, however the fight against them continues with fervour. Only last week Special Forces soldiers from Mozambique carried out a two-day operation in northern Cabo Delgado region, according to Mozambique’s Interior Minister Amade Miquidade. The official line is "At least 50 terrorists [Boko Haram] were neutralized by Mozambican security forces in a two-day anti-terror operation

Who are Boko Haram?
The Islamic State in West Africa or the Islamic State's West Africa Province, formerly known as
Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād which literally translated means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad" but more commonly referred to as Boko Haram [so named by residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters] is a jihadist terrorist organisation based in North-east Nigeria and active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.

Boko originally meant fake but came to signify Western education, while Haram means forbidden, simply, "Western Education is Forbidden" Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "Haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.

They came to global notoriety in 2014 when they abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in Chibok in Borno state. On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Secondary School in the town. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. 57 of the schoolgirls were rescued by Special Forces leaving 219 girls held captive. However there are hopes that the girls will be used as a bargaining chip in possible exchange for jailed Boko Haram fighters.

5 Essential facts about Boko Haram

•     Founded in 2002
•     Official Arabic name, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad,
•     Initially focused on opposing Western education
•     Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
•     Designated a terrorist group by US in 2013

Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, regardless of whether the president is Muslim or not - and it has extended its military campaign by targeting neighbouring states.

The extremist Islamist group has caused havoc in Africa's most populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions - It is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. As recently as March 2020, its militants have ambushed and killed at least 47 Nigerian soldiers in the country's North-east, before killing almost 100 soldiers in Chad the following day.

More on Boko Haram by Iain Fraser
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