The terrorist group Boko Haram. Reference

2014 turned out to be an extremely eventful year. The annexation of Crimea, the beginning of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, the armed coup in Thailand, the operation "indestructible rock" in the Gaza Strip, the rapid advance of ISIS * in Syria and Iraq. Against this backdrop, the mass kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls in April 2014 by the little-known group Boko Haram * drowned somewhat in the flows of informational noise. Meanwhile, the group is one of the burning hotbeds of extremism on the black continent and global threat for all of West Africa.

As a background, it is worth talking a little about Islam in Africa. The first Muslims crossed the territories of modern Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea to find refuge in modern Ethiopia as early as the beginning of the 7th century. The majority of Muslims in Africa are Sunnis, however African Islam is not static and is constantly changing under the influence of social, economic, and political conditions. Often it adapts to African cultural contexts and attitudes, and forms various new forms.

The direct spread of Islam in West Africa is associated with the so-called Fulani (or Fula) Jihad. The Fula originate in the valley of the Senegal River, where they founded their kingdoms. Until about the beginning of the 9th century, they continued their migration to the regions of Bundu, Bamboo, Diomboko, Kaarta and Bagan. And around the 11th century AD, Islam took root among them.

From 1750 to 1900 they participated in a large number of holy wars (jihad) under the banner of Islam. In the first half of the 19th century, two important empires conquered the Fula. One was based in Masina, controlled by Timbuktu, the other, Sokoto, included the Hausa city-states (Hausaland, northern Nigeria, southern Niger), part of Borno and Western Cameroon.

As a result, the Caliphate of Sokoto was created - an Islamic state with Sharia law, a caliph and emirs. At the beginning of the 20th century, Sokoto was included in the British Protectorate of Nigeria, but the regional elite retained their power. At present, the Sultans of Sokoto have retained their power as the spiritual heads of the Muslims of Nigeria.

Dormant for a long time, Islam in Nigeria began to gain strength from the end of the 20th century. The 1963 census showed that 26 percent of Nigerians were Muslims, 62 percent were Christians, and 14 percent had traditional beliefs. However, since 1990, Islam began to permeate everyday life Nigerians. Public meetings began and ended with Muslim prayer, and most of the population knew at least a few Arabic prayers and the five pillars of the religion. In 2009, the number of Muslims exceeded the number of Christians.

Large numbers of Muslims live in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast and much of West Africa. There are also a smaller but still significant number of immigrants in South Africa.

In the context of the general Islamization of the region, it is not surprising that there is a tendency towards an increase in the number of radical Islamic groups. One of them was Boko Haram, founded by Mohammed Yusuf around 2002 in the city of Maiduguri.

The official name of the group is "Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad" (translated from Arabic - the Society of Adherents of the Propagation of the Teachings of the Prophet and Jihad). It received the name "Boko Haram" (house Boko haram) from the residents of the city of Maiduguri, in which Yusuf built a religious complex that included a mosque and a school. Boko Haram translates as "Western education is forbidden" or "Western education is sinful". Although the stated purpose of the building was to teach religion to children, the complex was used to recruit supporters.

The main goal of the organization is the introduction of Sharia throughout Nigeria and the eradication of the Western way of life. According to members of the group, any public and political activity related to Western values ​​should be banned, including: voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers, and secular education. The government of Nigeria, from the point of view of Boko Haram, is “corrupted” by Western ideas and consists of “non-believers”, even if the president is formally a Muslim, therefore it should be overthrown, and the country should be governed on the basis of Sharia laws that are stricter than those in force in the northern states of Nigeria.

In 2009, an attempted insurgency was launched, the purpose of which was to create an Islamic state in the northern part of Nigeria, governed by Sharia law. However, he was suppressed, the Maiduguri base was stormed, and Mohammed Yusuf was arrested by the police and later died under unclear circumstances.

April 14, 2014 - a group kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from a lyceum in locality Chibok (Borno State). The leader of the organization, Abubakar Shekau, explained the attack on the educational institution by saying that “girls should leave school and get married. On August 21, the group's fighters captured the city of Buni Yadi (Yobe). At the same time, the group announced the creation of a caliphate in the territory under its control.

By early 2015, Boko Haram had taken over an area in the northeast the size of Belgium. However, over the following months, a military operation by Nigerian forces, supported by foreign mercenaries and troops from neighboring countries, caused serious damage to the terrorists.

The bulk of the Boko Haram militants are representatives of the Kanuri people; despite frequent attacks outside the Kanuri ethnic territory, attempts to gain a foothold in them were unsuccessful. Due to the incomprehensibility of the Kanuri language for most Nigerians, the Hausa and Fulbe languages ​​are widely used in the movement.

On the this moment the group operates except for Nigeria in parts of the territory of Cameroon, Niger and Chad. characteristic feature inherent in this organization is exorbitant cruelty and bloodthirstiness, as a result of the actions of Boko Haram, according to rough estimates, about 20,000 people died and about 2.3 million people were forced to flee their homes. Estimates of the size of the group vary considerably. Most sources estimate it in the range of 7-10 thousand people, but there are more radical estimates: up to 15 thousand.

Funding sources are generally quite classic: kidnappings, human trafficking, drug trafficking. In addition, the group is believed to receive funding from a number of corrupt elites who use its capabilities for their own purposes.

Boko Haram was traditionally thought to have close ties to al-Qaeda* in the Maghreb and Al-Shabaab*, but in March 2015 they swore allegiance to the Islamic State* changing their name to " West African province of the "Islamic State"» (Islamic State’s West Africa Province, ISWAP).

The difficulty in the fight against this group is represented by a number of factors. Along with the classical problems for Africa in building a state, overcoming ethnic disunity, total poverty and lack of education of the population, there are also global trends in the growing popularity of radical Islam. All this is superimposed on a deplorable picture for Nigeria of falling oil prices, which practically eliminates the ability of a corrupt and weakened state mechanism to actively, organized resistance.

Although, it must be said, there has been a long-standing discussion among analysts why the large Nigerian army turned out to be so weak, especially when recalling the contrast when its soldiers played an important role in retaliatory strikes in West Africa in the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

It is believed that the militants of Boko Haram are opposed by about 35 thousand troops of 4 states (Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon). But despite the significant numerical advantage, these forces are clearly not enough. Also, in March 2015, the African Union supported the creation regional association to fight "Boko Haram" numbering more than eight thousand people.

By 햄방이 - Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39805121

The United States also participates to a limited extent in the fight against Boko Haram. A small contingent of troops is stationed in Cameroon, and several dozen Green Berets (forces special operations US Army) sent to Chad and Nigeria to train the armed forces of these countries. The United Kingdom also provides assistance at approximately the same level.

Regarding the global danger of Boko Haram for the entire continent (in the context of the general Islamization of Africa), there is no consensus. On the one hand, a geographically isolated and underdeveloped group from sub-Saharan Africa is unlikely to directly threaten countries outside its region.

On the other hand, the continent is simply dotted with pockets of instability and rotting ulcers of Islamic terrorism, and if you try to just conserve the situation, at one moment it may turn out to be too late. Pessimism is added by the absence strong players on this field. Ironically, once the most developed and powerful states of the continent, they themselves are the sources of the greatest danger. Libya, torn apart, is the epicenter of the Maghreb instability, Egypt is mired in the fight against the Muslim Brotherhood and militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Nigeria is unable to cope with its own demons, and South Africa is no longer the powerful “African Lion” that hit the world with economic growth.

*Organizations recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia

About the origin of terrorism in Afghanistan

About the formation of the origins of ISIS in Iraq

The scandal over the deaths of four American special forces in Africa has raised too many uncomfortable questions about US covert operations on the Black Continent and about the support that the Americans provide to the most brutal and frostbitten terrorist group, Boko Haram *.

The American special forces were the last to leave the village of Tongo-Tongo, when the dazzling morning sun already appeared over the distant hills of an endless African savannah. Suddenly, Staff Sergeant Jeremy Johnson, who was driving a white Toyota Land Cruiser, slammed on the brakes.

Jeremy opened the door and stood on the running board of the car, peering into the bushes, shrouded in either dust or dawn mist. The branches stirred, and the staff sergeant saw dozens of armed men gliding noiselessly towards the village. Crap! It could only be the damned Islamists, who apparently decided to attack the sleeping village.

Ambush! barked the staff sergeant. - Fire!

Throwing up his machine gun, he fired a long burst through the bush - it was necessary to warn both the rest of the convoy and the self-defense forces in the village. Then he darted back into the cab and pressed the gas pedal to the floor, throwing the car at the militants - now the most important thing is to divert the fire of the militants towards yourself, at least for five minutes, in order to give the convoy the opportunity to regroup and attack the partisans. Then they'll just shoot those monkeys like they're in a shooting range!

Staff Sergeant Johnson did not have time to think out his thought: a hurricane of lead fell on the windshield, an unbearable fire pierced his arm and leg. Bleeding, Johnson got out of the jeep, looked back at the convoy - where are you, quick!

But the horizon was clear - no one was in a hurry to help him.

Staff Sergeant Brian Black, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, Sergeant La David Johnson, Sergeant Dustin M. Wright. All four were killed in Niger when a joint patrol of U.S. and Nigerien forces was ambushed by militants believed to be linked to the Islamic State group. Photo: © U.S. Army via AP

Country of slaves, country of masters

The first thing to know about Nigeria is that this country is the 8th largest producer of crude oil in the world. Oil provides 95% of the state's foreign exchange earnings, while Nigeria remains one of the poorest countries in the world: official statistics, more than 70% of the country's 150 million people live below the poverty line.

The Portuguese, who opened their first trading post at the mouth of the Niger River (or rather, the river is called Gir, but the expression Ni Gir in the local Hausa language means "country on the Gir River"), called this land Costa dos Escravos - "Slave Coast". Because it was the slaves captured in the endless internecine wars between hundreds of tribes that belong to three ethnic groups - the Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo peoples, and were the most hot commodity, which the local princelings were ready to supply to the Europeans in any quantity.

So, when today's African Americans reproach whites for the slave trade, they somehow forget that this business would never have been able to reach such proportions if it were not for the active participation of African kings who are ready to catch and sell their neighbors and fellow tribesmen. And the hunting of the tribes against each other, in fact, laid a real time bomb under the entire Black Continent: they still haven’t forgotten who was hunting whom.

The slave trade flourished on the Slave Coast until the beginning of the 19th century, when Sheikh Osman dan Fodio declared jihad on all whites. Soon the sheikh created the first African Islamic empire - the Sokoto Caliphate, the largest state in sub-Saharan Africa.

But the caliphate did not last long - already under the sons of the sheikh, tribal strife tore the Islamic empire into tiny shreds, which were subdued one by one by the French and British colonialists. And at the Berlin Conference of 1884, the lands of the former Caliphate were divided between France and Great Britain: the French ceded the northern regions, where they founded the colony of Upper Senegal and Niger, while the British established the Protectorate of Nigeria in the south.

Lost colonial paradise

Today, Africans remember seven decades of British rule as a "golden age" - after the British found huge reserves of minerals in the Niger Valley, Nigeria became one of the most economically developed colonies of the British Empire.

But wealth, as often happens, turned the heads of local princes who dreamed of ruling without any decrees from London. As a result, after a series of uprisings, Nigeria became the first country in Africa to achieve independence - this happened back in 1954.

Nigerian federal troops Pictured during an operation against Biafran separatist forces near Ore City, about 120 miles from Ibadan, Nigeria, Aug. 16, 1967. Photo: © AP Photo

True, as soon as the African kings felt the taste of freedom, both countries immediately plunged into the abyss of endless military coups and civil wars between tribes that remembered old grievances from the time of the slave trade. The Tuareg uprising swept through Niger, and in Nigeria, the Igbo tribes rebelled almost simultaneously. Next, the Hausa tribes, living not only in Nigeria and Niger, but also in Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic, declared their independence. Inter-confessional conflicts have also begun - according to the latest census, only half of the country's inhabitants profess Islam. Over 40% are Christians, and one in ten Nigerians practice local ancestor cults.

Of course, the endless war put an end to the economic prospects of Nigeria. Today, in fact, there are two Nigerias. One country is the six largest million-plus cities, including the former capital Lagos and the new capital Abuja. It is this Nigeria that is called the "economic locomotive" of Africa with excellent development prospects. The other Nigeria is a poor and embittered Muslim province, dreaming of the return of the jihad of Sheikh Osman dan Fodio, who for Africa is the reincarnation of Ivan the Terrible.

Just in such Nigeria - in the poor village of Girgir, in the state of Yobe, in January 1970, Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of the most cruel jihadist group Boko Haram on the entire continent, was born in the family of a local healer and interpreter of the Koran.

Magic word "X"

As befits a folk hero, until the age of 32, Mohammed Yusuf did not show himself in anything so special. From an early age, his father sent him to study Islam in a madrasah, then he began to study theology at the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia, where he met the preacher Shukri Mustafa, who became famous in Egypt as the founder of the first Wahhabi group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2002, Mohammed Yusuf returned back to Nigeria, where he settled in the town of Maiduguri, in the northeastern province of Borno, which was already considered a "country of Muslims" at that time.

In Maiduguri, he opens his own madrasah - in fact, a recruiting center. He also opened a training base for "jihad warriors" called "Afghanistan". It is on this base that the "Society of Adherents of the Propagation of the Teachings of the Prophet and Jihad" gathers - this is the official name of the Boko Haram group.

This nickname was invented by the residents of Maiduguri themselves, for whom the official name "Society" sounded either too pretentious or too long. "Boko Haram" is formed from two words: the Arabic "haram", that is, "sin", and the word "boko", which in the language of the Hausa tribes means about the same as the Russian word "show-off". But in this African case, the word "boko" referred to urban slickers from wealthy families who received higher education either in the West or in universities by Western standards. According to the teachings of Mohammed Yusuf, it is precisely such a Western secular education that is the greatest sin that a person can only commit in his life.

In 2009, a British Air Force correspondent asked the leader of Boko Haram why he had such a negative attitude towards secular education.

Because the current Western education tells blasphemous things that contradict our beliefs in Islam, Mohammed Yusuf replied.

For example?

For example, rain, - Yusuf opened up. - We believe that rain is a creation of Allah, and not the result of evaporation and condensation of water caused by the sun.

But why not admit that it was Allah who invented evaporation and condensation?

Then we will have to admit Darwinism, and that our planet is a ball, and everything else. And this is a direct road to starting to freely interpret the words of the Koran, and this is haram! Anything that is contrary to the teachings of Allah is haraam, which we reject.

With a sense of overwhelming satisfaction

The debut of the Boko Haram militants took place in the spring of 2006, when the governor's elections began in the province. And Mohammed Yusuf delivered an angry sermon on local television, stating that devout Muslims should have and have only one boss - the caliph, so all Muslims who dare to take part in Western-style elections should cut off their hand or head, and unfaithful Christians - to throw stones at all.

Already in the evening, a crowd of excited jihadists marched through the city, rioting at polling stations. Along the way, the crowd also destroyed 12 Christian churches, demanding that the beaten clergy take an oath of allegiance to the non-existent caliph.

In response, the governor ordered the arrest of the preacher for inciting violence, but the arrest and prison term only strengthened Yusuf's image as a "people's hero."

After leaving prison two years later, Yusuf, along with members of Boko Haram, first settled in the city of Kanama, in the state of Yobe, then, under pressure from the authorities, he was forced to move to the state of Bauchi on the very border with Niger.

And in July 2009, Mohammed Yusuf with the militants again marked himself in the bloody field. Then a whole wave of riots swept through the Muslim world caused by the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in one of the Danish newspapers. In the town of Bauchi, an angry demonstration also took place, the participants of which demanded that all Anglican churches and police stations be burned.

But Governor Isa Yuguda ordered the demonstration to be dispersed.

The next day, a group of Boko Haram activists attacked the police station, freeing the detainees. Many of the attackers were armed with machine guns, and 32 people on both sides were killed in the shootout. When the police fled in fear from the set fire to the area, it gave a signal for pogroms throughout the city.

First of all, the Islamists destroyed and burned all the Christian churches in the city. They put priests and parishioners on track, forcing them to ask the Muslims for forgiveness for caricatures under the threat of death on a video camera. They beat pastor George Orjich to death right at the altar after the priest refused to spit on the crucifix and convert to Islam. During the pogroms, more than 50 people were killed and several dozen were injured.

In response, the governor introduced the army into the state. The headquarters of Boko Haram in Bauchi was stormed. Mohammed Yusuf was arrested and taken to prison, where he died under unclear circumstances - as the police said, he was shot dead by escorts while trying to escape. But hundreds of Boko Haram sympathizers were sure that Yusuf was simply shot without trial or investigation.

Shekau

After the death of Yusuf, leadership in the group passed to Abubakar Shekau, former student from a madrasah in Maiduguri, who was responsible for training militants in the Afghanistan camp, as well as for supplying the group with weapons.

Nobody knows anything specific about this person. Moreover, the date of his birth is also unknown - somewhere between 1975 and 1980, no one knows the place of his birth either. At the same time, paradoxically, Abubakar Shekau is a typical "boko": he is fluent in several languages, including Arabic, English and French, and understands computer technology. Where a country boy from the most provincial "hole" of Nigeria, who never left the country, could receive such an education is a mystery.

In addition, the Nigerians also note the fantastic luck of Abubakar Shekau, thanks to which he invariably escaped from all ambushes. The country's authorities, which announced a $7 million bounty on the head of the Boko Haram leader, declared him dead three times, but Shekau invariably "resurrected". Experts have only one explanation for such luck: Shekau is under the control of foreign special services, which warn their "agent" about the upcoming operations.

One way or another, but it was under Abubakar Shekau that a provincial group of Islamic fanatics in as soon as possible has become a national threat. From somewhere there were sponsors, and the latest weapons, and tons of explosives, and trained instructors. Under the leadership of Shekau, the Boko Haram group in just a few years managed to seize an area larger than Holland and Belgium combined.

Terror in black

On January 18, 2010, after Friday prayers, a crowd of excited Muslims came to the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in the heart of the city of Jos. And she demanded from the priest to give them Christians from a neighboring village, who allegedly killed two small children in one Muslim family, they say, reliable witnesses showed that the killers hid in this particular temple.

As it turned out later, all the bloody events in Jos were the result of a provocation by the Boko Haram group, which declared jihad against Christians throughout the former Sokoto Caliphate. Disguised jihadists killed children, and then called on believers in mosques to go and take revenge on Christians.

Soon, a video message from Abubakar Shekau appeared on the Web, who called for the destruction of all Christian churches in the country, as well as all secular schools and higher educational institutions, all embassies Western countries and offices international organizations. In addition, Shekau called for the burning of supermarkets. And for the first time in the country's history, Boko Haram declared jihad on Muslims themselves if they dare to criticize jihad.

The pogrom in Jos lasted three days. Armed with machetes and axes, crowds of jihadists rushed through the city in search of the Gentiles. Sometimes they found ancient old people whom the panicked families could not take with them. To the laughter of the crowd, the thugs dragged the unfortunate old people out into the street and beat them with hammers.

The violence then spilled over into suburban villages. For example, the village of Zot was burned and wiped off the face of the earth, and in the village of Kuru-Karame, more than half of the inhabitants were killed - over 100 people. The bodies of the executed jihadists were dumped into wells from drinking water, forbidding to betray them to the earth.

Christmas terror

On August 26, 2011, an explosion occurred in the heart of the country's capital, when a suicide bomber in a car bomb broke through two security barriers and crashed into the doors of the UN headquarters in Abuja. As a result of the attack, a wing of the building was destroyed, two dozen people were killed, and about a hundred more were injured.

The next high-profile terrorist attack was timed to coincide with the Catholic holiday of Christmas on December 25, 2011 - then, right during the Christmas service in the temples of four cities - in Madalla, Jos, Gadak and Damaturu - bombs were detonated. The victims of the terrorists numbered in the hundreds.

An even more massive terrorist attack was staged by the Boko Haram militants two weeks later, timed to coincide with the feast of St. Sebastian - this is one of the most beloved holidays among African Catholics. It all started when a suicide bomber blew up a police station in Kano, the second largest city in Nigeria. Almost immediately after that, suicide bombers blew up three more police stations, then the headquarters of the state security, a telephone exchange, a passport service - in total, more than 20 explosions thundered in the city that day.

After that, the attacks continued in succession.

People killed in the riots lie on the floor of a hospital mortuary in Mubi, Adamawa state in northern Nigeria, on January 7, 2012. The attack on the town hall, which killed at least 20 people, is one of a series of deadly attacks claimed by the radical Muslim sect Boko Haram, which has promised to kill Christians living in Nigeria's mostly Muslim north. Photo: © AP Photo

"Jihad" of cannibals

In 2013, Boko Haram activities spilled out of Nigeria - for example, in neighboring Cameroon, jihadists attacked a group French tourists who were in national park Vase. According to Abubakar Shekau, the French were taken hostage in protest against France's interference in the affairs of sovereign African states.

A French family of seven, including four children, spent three months as hostages. In the end, the French government was forced to pay the kidnappers a ransom for the family in the amount of three million dollars.

Hostage-taking has increased. The most famous was the abduction in April 2014 of 276 schoolgirls, that is, all students of a boarding school from the town of Chiboka. The terrorists arrived at the school at night when everyone was asleep.

Kidnapped schoolgirls. Photo: © frame from YouTube video / TV2Africa channel

One of the witnesses later said: “When armed people in camouflage broke into the hostel at one in the morning, everyone at first thought they were soldiers, because they had an army uniform. driven to the gates of the hostel".

After that, the terrorists, together with the hostages, fled in an unknown direction.

A few days later, the jihadists published a video in which they showed the girls for the first time - they were dressed in Islamic style, with hijabs on their heads. Abubakar Shekau declared the schoolgirls his personal "slave", which he intends to present to his best warriors.

The operation to free the schoolgirls continues to this day, although some of them have already returned home, telling horrors that even the atrocities of ISIS * pale in comparison. So, the militants turned into slaves not only the captured hostages, but in general all women who were not lucky enough to be on the territory of the caliphate. All slave girls are forced to do " female circumcision"Moreover, after this barbarous operation, many women died from blood poisoning, because medicine is haram! The terrorists sorted men into "correct Muslims" and "infidels." The latter were enslaved.

Moreover, as the Nigerian police are sure, the members of Boko Haram themselves are not Muslims at all. Not so long ago, they stormed one of the group's training camps, under which the police discovered an extensive system underground bunkers and tunnels dug by slaves. Usually, during the retreat, the terrorists blew up their underground communications, but this time the assault was so swift that the jihadists fled in a panic, forgetting to destroy the evidence. In the dungeon, the police found a whole warehouse of dismembered corpses, on the shelves were jars filled with blood and canned skulls. All this suggested that the Boko Haram militants actually practice traditional African cults with ritual cannibalism.

Under the banner of ISIS

In the spring of 2015, Abubakar Shekau swore an oath of allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS and Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi personally. Shekau became a "wali" - the governor of the caliph - the new state of the "West African province of the Islamic State."

However, they soon parted ways with ISIS.

Chadian soldiers display the Boko Haram flag for the benefit of the press in Damasac, Nigeria, on March 18, 2015. Photo: © AP Photo/Jerome Delay

Perhaps Shekau himself regarded his oath as a technical moment that allowed the group to expand the supply channels for money and weapons, but Caliph Al-Baghdadi himself reacted to his new province in a completely different way. And in August 2016, a new “wali” arrived in Nigeria - a certain Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who turned out to be ... the eldest son of Muhammad Yusuf who escaped execution.

An enmity broke out between the two “wali” from the very first minutes - which is not surprising, because Abu Musab considered Shekau to be the culprit in the death of his family. Allegedly, it was Shekau who betrayed the founder of Boko Haram to the special services in order to become the leader of the group himself. As a result, the group split into two parts, declaring jihad on each other.

The "dual power" continued until December 2016, when the headquarters of Boko Haram in Maiduguri was raided by the Nigerian Secret Service. Al-Barnawi was taken prisoner and, according to rumors, is now in one of the secret prisons of the CIA.

Shekau again united the terrorists and declared a new jihad - this time against foreign corporations. And the first to be hit were Chinese companies, which are now actively investing in Africa. First, the terrorists attacked a camp of Chinese workers involved in the construction of road infrastructure in neighboring Cameroon - just 20 kilometers from the Sambisa forest, which has become a real base for the terrorists. As a result of the attack, one Chinese citizen was killed, and ten more workers were kidnapped.

Chinese factor

New Year's Eve in 1983 in Lagos - the then capital of Nigeria - turned out to be hot: the air literally shook from the roar of firecrackers and deafening explosions of fireworks. Only on the morning of January 1 did foreign diplomats realize that these were not firecrackers at all, but real shooting - under cover new year party in Nigeria there was again a military coup, and Colonel Mohammadu Buhari, a brilliant graduate of the British Officers College in Wellington, a "black Pinochet" and a supporter of the harshest methods, came to power. According to Nigerian newspapers, he began his campaign to restore order with the arrests of journalists and activists, as well as the fact that, under threat of execution, he forced officials who were late for work to jump around the office like a frog.

Perhaps Buhari could have brought order to the country, but he hurt the interests of the International Monetary Fund and influential Western oil companies, which he actually kicked out of the country. Soon, Nigeria found itself in complete isolation - all Western powers broke off diplomatic relations with it.

In fact, the only country that did not turn its back on Buhari was China. And Bukhari did not forget this.

In 1985, a new military coup took place in the country. Buhari was arrested and imprisoned for three years - after another military coup, he was released, and General Sani Abacha, who came to power, offered him to head the Oil Trust Fund - that is, the entire "oil industry" of the country, which he led until 2000. Then Buhari returned to the political life of the country, was a member of parliament, and in 2015 he was elected the new president of Nigeria.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing April 12, 2016. Photo: © Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool Photo via AP

It was thanks to Buhari that China became Nigeria's main trading partner, displacing the US and Great Britain from these positions even at the beginning of the 2000s. Of course, the lion's share of Chinese investment - more than 80% - was invested in the development of oil fields, which were given to the state oil companies of the PRC. But the Chinese are also investing in other sectors of the country's economy, providing interest-free loans for infrastructure development.

Nigeria, in fact, became the first foreign colony of the PRC, a stronghold from which the Chinese comrades began to slowly but surely crush Africa under them.

New "Kerensky" in Africa

As soon as the PRC and the Government of Nigeria signed an agreement on strategic partnership, a “spring aggravation” began in Africa, when the provincial Islamist group Boko Haram, one of dozens of its kind, turned into a real army, equipped not at all with rusty Kalashnikovs, but with the most modern Western weapons.

Actually, the fact that the Americans support the Islamists "Boko Haram" is not a big secret for anyone in Africa - the first official official about this was back in 2015 by the previous president of Nigeria, Jonathan Goodluck, who launched a large-scale military operation Deep Punch II against terrorists involving armies of four states - Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. As a result, in two years of hostilities, the military managed to recapture most of the captured settlements from Boko Haram, driving the terrorists under the cover of the Sambisa forest, which is not far from Lake Chad.

Former Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluck and former US President Bill Clinton on January 14, 2009. Photo: © AP Photo/Sunday Aghaeze

Moreover, as stated by the Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, they almost captured the Boko Haram leader himself, but the elusive Abubakar Shekau again escaped, dressed in women's dress and hijab.

He even shaved off his beard! - the general was indignant. - But we can't stop every woman to check their faces under hijabs and what's under their dresses!

The General's anger is understandable. When last time they almost captured the leaders of the group, information appeared at the COAS headquarters from agents that Shekau ordered his accomplices to recruit more in the captured villages women's clothing in order to slip out of the encirclement under the guise of freed slaves.

Then General Buratai ordered to inspect all women - especially those who move large groups- Everyone knows that Shekau even goes to the toilet only accompanied by bodyguards.

But as soon as the soldiers began to check the women, an international scandal erupted: all the newspapers only wrote that the soldiers of the Nigerian army, called upon to save residents from terrorists, were actually raping local women.

Chadian soldiers hand over weapons seized from Boko Haram fighters to a helicopter in Damasac, Nigeria, on March 18, 2015. Photo: © AP Photo/Jerome Delay

It was at Tongo-Tongo

It was under the guise of concern for human rights that the United States and its allies refused to join the anti-terrorist operation. African countries. Instead, the Americans and the French announced the launch of their own operation against the Islamists operating in Niger.

And soon American weapons were seen in the hands of the Boko Haram militants.

The details of the supply of militants were accidentally revealed during an unsuccessful operation that resulted in the death of four "green berets" from 3 SFG (Special Forces Group) - this is the name of one of the oldest American special operations units stationed at Fort Bragg.

It is interesting that at first the Americans generally denied everything - even the very fact of the presence of "green berets" in the country. Then the terrorists published on the Internet a video edited from records from surveillance cameras mounted on the helmets of special forces - they removed these cameras from the bodies of dead soldiers. As a result, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dunford, was forced to admit the death of US soldiers, specifying that a group of "green berets" were ambushed during reconnaissance. However, the facts published by the jihadists show otherwise.

On March 7, 2015, Nigerian special forces and Chadian troops participate with US advisers in Exercise Flintlock in Mao, Chad. Photo: © AP Photo/Jerome Delay

On October 3, 2017, a convoy of eight Toyota jeeps went to the village of Tongo-Tongo to deliver a batch of weapons and ammunition to the local self-defense forces - as it turns out, the Green Berets have been training similar units in Niger for five years to fight Boko Haram and their allies. And then a detachment of eight Americans (according to Dunford, there were 12 Americans) and two dozen local special forces arrived in the village in the evening and, having delivered the cargo, quietly spent the night until the morning. At dawn, the convoy went back, and for some unknown reason, two cars fought off the column and stopped near the village. It was there that Staff Sergeant Jeremy Johnson spotted a troop of fifty jihadists calmly making their way to the village to collect their share of American "humanitarian aid."

Staff sergeants Brian Black, Dustin Wright and David Johnson, who were following, also fell under the distribution. In an effort to create a smoke screen, they scattered gas grenades, but this did not save them.

The first deflection was Brian Black, followed by Dustin Wright, and only pitch-black African-American Johnson hid for some time in a shroud from the partisans, who, obviously, mistook him for their own. But then they killed Sergeant Johnson as well.

Interestingly, the rest of the convoy did nothing to save their comrades, although later a version appeared that the Americans and Nigerians simply did not have time to orient themselves.

The very next day, according to the Americans, investigations and a cleansing operation began in Tongo-Tongo. The village headman and the commander of the "self-defense forces", who - here and there is no need to go to the shaman - act in concert with the partisans, the Americans were taken to the local "Guantanamo". As a result, all the circumstances of the tragedy, which could lower the authority of the vaunted American "Green Berets" below the plinth, were reliably classified, and only thanks to the publication of the recording from the surveillance cameras of the dead soldiers did the world learn about the secret war raging in the African savannah.

And this war will continue - as long as the "great game" of the superpowers for world domination is going on, in which terrorists are assigned only the role of a means to mask selfish interests.

* Organizations banned in Russia by decision of the Supreme Court.

Boko Haram is an Islamist terrorist group operating in northern and northeastern Nigeria. The organization was founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002. He built a religious complex, a mosque and a school where future militants were recruited.

The name of the bandit formation can be translated from Arabic as “Western education is a sin”, it consists of two words “boko” (translated from Arabic - “false”, radical Islamists designate Western education with this word) and haram (“sin”).

In 2015, the militants swore allegiance to the Islamic State (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation - approx. AiF.ru) and took on the new name "Islamic State's West African Province."

Ideology

Supporters of the group consider Western culture, including education and science, to be a sin. According to the terrorists, in particular, women should never study and wear skirts. Also, Boko Haram supporters do not recognize voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers, and scientific truths (for example, the water cycle in nature, Darwinism, the sphericity of the Earth), which, in their opinion, are contrary to Islam.

The government of Nigeria, from the point of view of Boko Haram, is "corrupted" by Western ideas and consists of "non-believers", and the leaders of the country are only formally Muslims. In this regard, the current government, according to the leaders of the group, should be overthrown, and Sharia law should be introduced in the country.

According to the organization's understanding of Shariah, sinners should expect the most severe punishment both in this life and in eternal life. Therefore, the unrighteous, from the point of view of Boko Haram, Nigerians, must be punished with the help of physical violence.

Ethnic composition

The bulk of the Boko Haram militants are representatives of the Kanuri people. There are over 3 million of them in Nigeria. Most of them are Muslims. In addition, among the militants there are representatives of other African tribes: Fulbe and Chaos.

Gang activity

year 2009 - Mohammed Yusuf attempted a rebellion, the purpose of which was the creation of an Islamic state in the northern part of Nigeria. After that, on July 29, 2009, the police stormed the group's base in Maiduguri. Mohammed Yusuf was arrested by the police and later died under unclear circumstances;

2010 - about 50 supporters of the gang attacked a prison in the city of Bauchi, which contained extremists arrested during the rebellion. 721 out of 759 inmates were released;

2011 - organization of explosions in the city of Damaturu. The target of the attackai is police, military and residents of Christian areas. A total of 150 people died;

2012 attack on Christian communities located in Adamawa state, killing at least 29 people;

2012 - Suicide bombers bombed three churches in Kaduna state; according to the Red Cross, more than 50 people died;

2013 - due to the activities of Boko Haram, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in the country;

2014 - a group kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from a lyceum in the village of Chibok (Borno state). The attack on the educational institution leader of the organization, Abubakar Shekau, explained that "girls should leave school and get married";

2014 - in the city of Jos (Plateau state) a double terrorist attack was committed, as a result of which more than 160 civilians were killed, more than 55 were injured;

2014 - terrorists captured the city of Buni Yadi and announced the creation of a caliphate in the territory controlled by it;

2015 - burned 16 cities and villages in northern Nigeria in the state of Borno, including the 10,000-strong city of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad, captured several cities.

Government position

An attempt by the Nigerian government to negotiate with the Boko Haram group has so far been unsuccessful. The authorities are conducting full-fledged military operations against the militants using aviation and artillery.

Sharia (in translation from Arabic - “way”, “mode of action”) is a set of legal, canonical, traditional, moral, ethical and religious norms of Islam, covering a significant part of the life of a Muslim, one of the forms of religious law.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحي م

1. Boko Haram is an Islamic movement in Nigeria that was founded by Islamic scholar Muhammad Yusuf in 2002. in the city of Maiduguri, the capital of the state of Borno in northeastern Nigeria. The movement later spread to other northern provinces. In some studies, Muhammad Yusuf is described as a Salafi who was strongly influenced by the thoughts of Ibn Taymiyyah. It is mentioned that Muhammad Yusuf studied under his father, who was a faqih and teacher of Qur'an. Apparently, Muhammad Yusuf is a sincere person who decided to come out for the sake of Islam, he was an influential person, and his followers spread to various provinces of Nigeria. Nigeria's secular regime saw his appeal as a threat to itself.

An observer of Muhammad Yusuf and his followers will see that the name "Boko Haram" (meaning "ban on Western enlightenment" in Hausa) was not given by Muhammad Yusuf or his followers, but was given by others because of the group's call for a ban. Western enlightenment. Some say that the name of the group is "Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa", while others say that the name of the group is "Haraqat Ahlus Sunnah li dawat wal jihad" (Movement of Summons and Jihad of the People of the Sunnah), and still others say that the name of the group is - "People dedicated to spreading the teachings of the Prophet." But the political establishment and the media call the group "Boko Haram" because. the group demands Islamic enlightenment, the application of its laws, and works to ban the manifestation of any sin in the country. The influence of Muhammad Yusuf and his followers extends to almost all northern provinces. He and his followers were forced into hiding by threats of attacks from the security forces of the former President Obasanjo's regime. He and his followers began to show themselves after 2006, entering into a bitter confrontation with the secular regime of Nigeria, demanding the implementation of Islam throughout the country. Apparently, Muhammad Yusuf did not call for violence or the use of weapons as a method of his conscription, on the contrary, he insisted that the conscription should be conducted peacefully. This is reinforced by the fact that, although he was arrested, he was released due to the lack of any evidence that he or his group had been involved in the violence. The people openly accepted his call, and he taught them. He stopped calling those infidels who refused his call. He owns the words: "I believe that Islamic law should be established in Nigeria, and throughout the world, if possible, but this should happen through dialogue."

All this clearly indicates that the beginning of this movement was non-violent.

2. It is believed that the formation of Boko Haram was influenced by social and economic factors since, with the participation of England in 1903. The Sokoto Caliphate, which ruled the country for more than 100 years, was destroyed. Nigeria is a country in which Muslims make up 70% of the indigenous population. In the northern region, Muslims make up the vast majority of the population - 90%. Total number The population of the country is 150 million people. Therefore, the task of various successful Muslim groups and organizations was to prohibit everything that is Western. These goals subsequently expanded to

the spread of Islam in the north and the implementation of Sharia law.

Islamic roots have been firmly established over the centuries. Islam entered the Kano region in the north of the country in the early 7th century and spread to the Hausa and Faulani regions of northern and central Nigeria through trade relations. Islam spread rapidly in the middle of the 10th century through scholars from Spain (Andalusia). In the Sharia courts of Nigeria, the madhhab of Imam Maliki is used, the majority of Muslims are Sunnis. Even today, Muslims proudly remember the Sokoto Caliphate, which was established in northern Nigeria in the 9th century by Osman Dan Fodio, known as Osman ibn Fodio.

It is clear that various Islamic groups and organizations of various orientations have arisen due to the Islamic atmosphere in northern Nigeria. The intense enthusiasm for Islam in the northern provinces forced successive secular federal regimes to agree to the implementation of some parts of the Islamic Sharia in the 12 provinces, even if this implementation was partial.

It was in this atmosphere that the Boko Haram movement, organized in 2002, arose in northern Nigeria. Muhammad Yusuf and a group of students who studied Shariah.

Boko Haram began as an organization opposed to Western enlightenment and working to restore Islam. The organization's spokesman, Abu Abdurrahman, told the BBC on June 21, 2001: “Our goals are wider than those we set out when we created the organization, namely the fight against Western enlightenment. Today, we demand the establishment of an Islamic state that is not based on democratic government. In the northern states, Sharia is not implemented in the true sense. In 2004 the group called for the establishment of an Islamic state and the implementation of Islamic Sharia throughout Nigeria.

3. As we mentioned above, their actions were not violent, on the contrary, they called for dialogue and presented their Islamic views using peaceful means. However, the Nigerian secular regime treated them with all the cruelty, and this influenced the change in the group's policy towards violence.

A: After the number of followers of the group in the northern regions increased and they began to call people to Islam, presenting Islamic views to them and entering into dialogue with them, the secular regime was afraid that everyone more people accept the views of a movement that calls for the implementation of Islam. Therefore, the government began to pursue a cruel policy against the movement. People were shocked by satellite footage showing security forces killing dozens of members of the group in cold blood. Also, the Islamic Ummah was shocked by the news of the murder of Muhammad Yusuf in the dungeons of the security services after his arrest.

The attacks on the groups were extremely brutal and barbaric, in addition to the assassination of the leader of the movement, which revealed the regime's intense hatred of Islam and its followers. At the end of July 2009 Regime forces raided the movement's headquarters and killed hundreds of followers in an extremely barbaric manner. As a result of the mass genocide, 700 people died and 3,500 people were forced to become refugees. The security services arrested Muhammad Yusuf and shot him hours later, claiming he was trying to escape. No one believes the government's claims, even Human Rights Watch, which rarely takes the side of Muslims, protested against these heinous actions, saying: "The extrajudicial killing of Yusuf in the police office is a shocking example of the shameless violation of the law by the Nigerian police in the name of the rule of law."

B: On top of that, Muslims have been denied political rights for many years. The ruling secular "Democratic People's Party", created former president Obasanjo (1999-2007), America's agent, announced a policy of pacification of Muslims. This policy has been abolished by current President Jonathan. The policy implied a rotation of power between the Muslim majority and the Christian minority, which, in fact, equalized the majority and the minority, and this caused the wrath of the Muslims. President Umar Musa Yar'Adua died in 2010. in the second year of his 4-year term, and in accordance with the policy of pacification of Muslims, it was understood that the current president of Nigeria was to be a Muslim. But the ruling "Democratic People's Party" nominated not a Muslim, but a Christian, Goodluck Jonathan, for the presidency. Naturally, Jonathan won the election, because. the ruling party was in power and could influence the outcome of the election. This led to chaos during the April 2011 elections in which 800 people died, mostly Muslims.

All this resulted in further rejection of Jonathan in the northern provinces. There were Muslim protests, which the regime brutally suppressed. Battalion special purpose killed 23 people in an explosion at a store in the center of Maiduguri on July 24, 2011. Amnesty International noted that "special forces were brought into the city before the explosion, and they brutally killed many people" - and demanded that President Jonathan stop breaking the law, violating human rights, and not allowing the police and military to do what whatever they please. There are indications that the regime was involved in these bombings and fabricated stories to achieve a goal in the service of American interests. It is appropriate to mention here that the newly elected President Jonathan on July 7, 2010. signed a strategic agreement with the United States on issues of homeland security, economics, development, health, democracy, human rights and cooperation in the field of regional security.

4. All these events - the persecution of a peaceful Islamic organization that engages in conscription, the murder of its leader in the most malicious way in the police office, the persecution of Muslims protesting against the regime's violation of the agreement on the rotation of the presidential office, and much more - led the group to resort to to violence, especially after the special forces raid in July 2009. and the assassination of its leader Muhammad Yusuf on July 30, 2009.

The group has been portrayed in the media as violent:

In September 2010 hundreds of prisoners who were members of this group were released from Maiduguri prison.

Thus, participation in these explosions of international forces along with the Jonathan regime is not ruled out, and blaming Boko Haram is done to justify security agreements and plunder the country's oil wealth under the pretext of providing support in the face of terrorism.

As we have already mentioned, a representative of the movement stated that most of the murders attributed to the organization are not actually connected to it.

6. In fact, the brutal crimes committed by the state against the movement caused acts of violence. Moreover, sometimes the state itself carried out these explosions, and so on. And after that, they blamed Boko Haram to justify the intervention of the colonial powers in Nigeria. In the future, these colonialists began to declare that the organization was associated with Al-Qaeda. In fact, it was they who presented Boko Haram as a threat to the world, as if the group had a fleet, military aircraft and tanks!

For example, General Carter F. Ham, commander of US forces in Africa (Africom troops; created in 2008) stated on August 17, 2011. during a meeting with Nigerian military and security officials: "Many sources say that Boko Haram is coordinating with al-Qaeda in West African Muslim countries." He added that this coordination poses a serious threat not only to Africa but to the entire world. In another statement, he said: "In fact, Boko Haram's links with other separatist organizations in Africa are of great interest to us" (AFP, 05/20/2011). Echoing the Africom commander, a Nigerian government spokesman, pointing to the type of bombs that were used last month, said that while there was no concrete evidence, he was convinced that Boko Haram had established links with al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb” (AFP, 05/20/2011).

In an interview broadcast on the Internet on August 24, 2011, William Strausberg, a US State Department official, said: "It is well known that the Obama administration has decided to help the Nigerian government counter the illegal activities of terrorist groups in the country." Other countries such as Britain and Israel have also offered assistance to the Nigerian military. All this is being done to strengthen the position of these countries, in particular America, in order to maintain control in Nigeria under the pretext of helping in the fight against terrorism.

7. Superpowers lie when they promise global community that they are helping Nigeria. All they care about is the country's oil wealth. It was oil that caused the artificial intensification of the conflict by these countries, especially America, to justify their influence in Nigeria. Nigeria is the 12th country in terms of oil production among OPEC countries, the 8th country among the largest exporters and the 10th country in terms of oil reserves. The American Petroleum News Agency suggests that Nigeria's oil reserves range between 16 and 22 billion barrels, while other studies put the figure between 30-35 billion barrels. Since 2001 Nigeria's oil production is 2.2 million barrels per day, while it can be as high as 3 million barrels per day. Oil exploration in Nigeria plays a significant role in the country's economy and accounts for 80% of income. Nigeria is a member of OPEC. Oil is located in the state of Delta, which is 20 thousand square meters in area. km. Oil plays an important role in economic and political life countries. The land of Nigeria is rich, located in tropical zone and plentiful water resources and offshore islands. 90 percent of oil is exported from this region. Along with this, Nigeria has three times more gas reserves than oil reserves.

In order to maintain control over Nigerian oil, the superpowers stage acts of violence and blame Boko Haram for this, and then, under the pretext of what they call terrorism, sign agreements with Nigeria in the military and security spheres in order to pave the way for the actual intervention and obtaining control over oil wealth. Consequently, not all acts of violence committed both before and after the elections are necessarily committed by Boko Haram. Many of these may be related to conflict between local parties associated with outside forces, while some of them may be related to anti-terrorism policies. In order to create a military foothold in Nigeria, the US announced a policy of combating terrorism in Africa during the Bush Jr. period, similar to how it was done around the world, under the pretext of which Afghanistan and Iraq were occupied. In Nigeria, things follow a similar pattern. This is not done for the sake of establishing peace in the country or the prosperity of the Nigerians, on the contrary, Nigerian oil and only oil is in the first place. In addition, Nigeria is a strategic region, because. is the most populous country on the African continent. From Nigeria, these superpowers can spread to neighboring countries to provoke unrest among the peoples in accordance with their policy of creating "militant warring factions" and then controlling these countries.

The least that these countries are burdened with is aid to Nigeria. On the contrary, their goal is to plunder its resources and wealth.

8. As stated above, Boko Haram's appeal was originally peaceful and remained so during the time of Muhammad Yusuf (may Allah have mercy on him). As a result of his brutal murder and inhumane attacks on Muslims in general, and this group in particular, the group was forced to take up arms. She was forced to do it, and fundamentally she is not violent. If the government stops violence against this group, it will most likely return to its original non-violent appeal.

However, the Jonathan regime, which is effectively acting on behalf of the US, is stepping up its bloody attacks on the group to further provoke them. Moreover, in order to serve American interests, the regime is holding Boko Haram responsible for its own bombings, in order to justify injecting US influence over British influence, and establishing hegemony over the country's oil wealth, some of which is pocketed by Jonathan and his entourage.

In conclusion, we want to give the group two pieces of advice:

First: Learn the Sharia way of establishing an Islamic state, namely the Righteous Caliphate, and follow the method of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in this matter and return to non-violent invocation so as not to leave any reason for the superpowers, in particular for America, and the government of Jonathan, which cooperates with these powers. With this, Boko Haram will be able to thwart the plot of the US, Britain and the Nigerian government against Muslim land, who want to make it the theater of their intervention and plunder its riches.

Second: We advise Boko Haram to carefully screen those who join the ranks of the organization in order to close the door on the henchmen of America or England, who, having entered the group, commit violent acts, and the blame for them falls on the entire group.

Conclusion:

1. This group was formed in 2002. Islamic scholar Muhammad Yusuf (may Allah have mercy on him) who wanted to work on the path of Islam in Nigeria with the help of this group.

2. The group began with a call to ban Western enlightenment, and later expanded its activities to call for the implementation of Shariah.

3. The group started out as a peaceful organization until the authorities intensified their attacks on this group, starting with the reign of Jonathan, who hates Muslims and Islam, just like America. As a result of these attacks on July 30, 2009. the Amir of the group was killed. All this prompted the group to use violence.

4. The group was accused of acts of violence and explosions. Some of them were carried out by the group in self-defense, while others were staged by the state and agents of the superpowers, in particular the US and Britain, who are vying for influence in Nigeria. This was done in order to justify their intervention in Nigeria under the pretext of helping to fight terrorism, to establish peace and protect the country.

5. The Jonathan regime is trying to create the conditions for a civil war between Muslims and Christians by attacking mosques and churches. This is supported by his statement on January 8, 2012, given that the current leader of Boko Haram, Abu Bakr Muhammad Shekau, clarified on January 12, 2012 that "the group is not involved in these attacks" and added that "they are killing Muslims and Christians and blame it on the group to turn the Nigerians away from us.”

6. The superpowers, especially the US, which has established hegemony over Nigeria due to the fact that Jonathan is their agent, as well as Britain, which previously controlled Nigeria, are not interested in helping Nigeria, nor in establishing peace. They compete with each other for control of the country's oil and turning Nigeria into a foothold for mastering the entire African continent.

7. We advise our Boko Haram brothers to study the Sharia path of establishing an Islamic State Caliphate contained in the Sirah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and return to a non-violent method so that the superpowers and the Nigerian regime have no reason to exploit these violent acts and justification for intervention in Nigeria, which will increase their influence in the country.

We also advise them to carefully check the people who join their ranks so that they are not infiltrated by agents of the superpowers to carry out violent actions. So that this does not give rise to the subsequent accusation of violence against the group.

Indeed, Allah (Holy and Great is He) helps those who help Him, He is the Almighty.

_____________________________

It seems to me a very interesting article, analysis and information. The situation was approximately similar with the "Ikhwans" in Egypt and with many other Islamic movements.

“Whoever claims that ‘the conflict is over’ is lying. Boko Haram is by no means dead.” Sitting in his luxurious office on the first floor of a large and maximally protected villa in Maiduguri, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima expresses disagreement with the position of the army and the head of state. They have repeatedly declared the "technical defeat" of the terrorist group, which in 2009 began its bloody jihad from this city after the liquidation of its founder Mohammed Yusuf by the special services.

The Governor of Shettima is clearly alarmed by the confidential report that came into his possession, which long list recent "incidents" (occur at least once a week). After a break from September to January, the "season" of terrorist attacks begins again in Maiduguri, although the number of victims has begun to decline. Security forces recently removed two explosives manufacturing sites in the heart of the city, raising fears of large-scale terrorist attacks in the future.

Maiduguri has long been a besieged stronghold in a region that has lost 20,000 dead and has hosted more than 2.6 million refugees since the conflict began. Part of the territory of this state, which is twice the size of Belgium and borders Chad, Cameroon and Niger, is still not controlled by the army. Jihadists continue to move freely, find supply lines, infiltrate the economy and conduct military operations.

Borno - "Province of the Islamic State"

Statements about the weakening of Boko Haram are due to the fact that the movement has fallen into several parts. Deprived of a central command, the jihadist organization has now split into two or three groups. According to some sources, since March they have been negotiating a possible unification under the leadership of a certain Mamman Nur.

We know little about this strategist, who is credited with masterminding the 2011 UN attack in the Nigerian capital of Abuja and the June 2016 operation in Diffa in southeast Niger, killing 26 security forces and 55 insurgents. His mastery of logistics and communications among African jihadists has given him a high-profile reputation from Kidal (Mali) to Mogadishu (Somalia) to Khartoum (Sudan).

In Borno, the military and volunteers involved in the fight against terrorism speak of the "Nura group". At the same time, "Boko Haram" is the "West African province" of the "Islamic State" , whose “ruler” was appointed Abu Musab al-Barnawi (sometimes referred to as the son of Mohamed Yusuf) in August 2016.

Thousands of miles from Nigeria, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi eventually ousted the rogue Abubakar Shekau, who had led Boko Haram since 2009. Shekau's incoherent (and religiously unorthodox) statements, the killing of Muslims, the use of children as suicide bombers, have all made him an outcast within IS.

Shekau in the forest, Blashera on the border

The Shekau Group is weakened but still active in northeastern Nigeria. In May, she released 82 schoolgirls who had been kidnapped three years earlier in exchange for the release of several militants and large sums money from Western intermediaries. Shekau and his henchmen (most of them belong to the Kanuri tribe) continue their operations in the eastern part of the Sambisa forest, where fighting between the Mujahideen and the army does not subside.

Context

Life under Boko Haram

ISIS and Boko Haram: the similarity of ideas, goals and strategies

In Hell Boko Haram

A little further north, near the border of Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria, there is a former smuggler Ban Blasher who joined Boko Haram, who knows all the local passages and trails like the back of his hand. At one time he was considered Shekau's successor and enjoys a certain amount of autonomy.

Lake Chad - a refuge at the borders of four states

Mammam Noor and Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who have proven themselves to be skilled strategists, maintain a presence in the western part of the Sambisa forest, as well as at Lake Chad, which has become their new refuge on the border of the four states. They attracted West African jihadists into their ranks, who arrived in the country with weapons and luggage, including from Libya. They arrange training for militants on the lake islands and try to negotiate with al-Qaeda. (banned in Russia terrorist organization- approx. ed.) on the division of arms smuggling channels.

Such information was obtained by Le Monde from several reports of regional security forces.

Although Mamman Noor and Abu Musab al-Barnawi are under the banner of IS, they have not severed ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its satellites. According to several sources, their emissaries have made contact with jihadist groups like Ansarul Islam, which has been rampant in northern Burkina Faso since late 2016. By doing so, they seem to be trying to add weight to the expression "IS province", as well as to expand their influence beyond the Chadian basin in the hope of winning over other groups in the area from Mauritania to the Central African Republic.

"Per recent months we note a new and distinct interregional dynamic that could be translated into the Central African Republic, Libya and Burkina Faso. The Nura-Barnavi group is making efforts to include other jihadist movements in IS's "West African Province" and to form new militias, says counter-terrorism expert Yan St-Pierre, based in Germany Modern Security Consulting Group. “West African Province methodically formed a whole network outside of its “natural” area of ​​operations and patiently tapped into the regional jihadist dynamic.”

New strategy

Initially, Boko Haram was an Islamist sect founded in 2002, and then turned into a jihadist group with a number of demands that did not go beyond the local framework. In 2015, the organization escalated into the West African offshoot of ISIS and began trying to expand into border countries northeast of Nigeria. Now its expansion plans are directed to the whole of West Africa. “The response of the states of the region does not cover the crisis zones that are outside the Lake Chad basin. So Boko Haram still has a head start,” said one Cameroonian analyst.

In addition, the duo of Mamman Noor and Abu Musab al-Barnawi is testing a new, softer strategy towards a population forgotten by the states, which is being targeted by the army and abandoned by traditional and religious leaders.

“In the lake region, this seems to be working, as the suffering population is receptive to what they consider to be steps forward. It is felt that it is less willing to cooperate with us, ”responds a fighter of a volunteer self-defense detachment, which is subordinate to the Nigerian special services.

The leaders of the "IS province" are distancing themselves from the blind brutality of Shekau and are trying to spare the villages in the south of Lake Chad (in some cases, residents are warned about the actions). In addition, food is offered to the population, medicines seized during the raids, and a less bloody version of jihadist Salafism. In addition, the Islamists were able to take credit for certain military successes in operations against the armed forces in the region, which for two and a half years have been part of a joint international group: it does not have the necessary budget, is poorly armed, and is also shaken by political squabbles and rivalry. at the command level.

“This kind of Boko Haram is much more dangerous because it does everything to enlist the sympathy of the population,” said Borno Governor Kashim Shettima in conclusion.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.