Boko Haram Fighters Attack Villages Killing 15

On April 2^nd Boko Haram fighters attacked the villages of Bille Shuwa and Alkaranti killing 15 people including 1 soldier and injured 83 others. Nigerian military officials said 13 insurgents were killed 7 of which were suicide bombers. The insurgents attempted to enter the city of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria but were repelled.

Most of the civilians killed in the attack were children fleeing the sound of gun fire. The suicide bombers inserted themselves into the crowd while the gunman were engaging soldiers.

Boko Haram, also known as Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) has killed more than 20,000 people since the beginning of their insurgency in 2009. In 2015 Boko Haram occupied an area in Northeast Nigeria the size of Belgium and has been forced out of the area by the army and supporting troops from outside countries.

Security remains a sensitive political topic in Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari is up for reelection in February, 2019, having been elected in 2015 on the promise of improved security. Buhari has repeatedly described Boko Haram as defeated despite several high-profile attacks.

For example, in February of 2018, 111 schoolgirls who were kidnapped from the town of Dapchi, and an attack in the town of Rann killed three aid workers in March.

The Nigerian government has been in talks with Boko Haram over a ceasefire deal and an end to hostilities. The ceasefire talks are the first of its kind with the terror group in years. But the government has not disclosed which elements of Boko Haram they have been in talks with.

The group splintered in 2016 into two factions, one led by former Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s leader after the death of founder Muhammad Yusuf. The other faction is led by former Boko Haram spokesman Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Shekau’s faction is known for the use of suicide bombers, while Barnawi’s faction was behind the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls.

Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) in 2015. But in 2016 IS declared that Abu Musab al-Barnawi would take over command of the group. Abubakar Shekau denounced the ruling claiming that IS leaders had failed to respond to his communications.

The likely hood of either Abubakar Shekau or Abu Musab al-Barnawi’s factions negotiating with the Nigerian government is unlikely. Both factions want to establish an Islamic Caliphate throughout the country and with this recent attack on the Nigerian people negotiating a ceasefire will only be more difficult.