Boko Haram Declares A New Caliphate In Northeastern Nigeria Aubakar Shekau, the mercurial leader of Nigeria’s Islamist group, Boko Haram, today released a video in which he declares the areas under his sect’s control a Caliphate and shows scenes of carnage carried out by his fighters against unarmed civilians. The video, which is the most gruesome since Boko Haram started the tradition of periodic releases of videotaped messages, also shows Nigerian soldiers fleeing from approaching insurgents. Mr. Shekau, who has used such images to cultivate the image of a fierce, reckless and merciless threat, appears to have tailored the current video to draw maximum global attention to his group. His declaration of a Caliphate is reminiscent of the style of the Sunni Islamic group, ISIS that has shot to the frontline of sectarian terrorist groups after declaring its ambition to build an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In his just released video, Mr. Shekau said Boko Haram insurgents were grateful to “Allah who gave us victory to attack Abuja and also the Yobe [State] town called Damaturu.” In his characteristic rambling manner, Mr. Shekau added, “We still thank God for the successful bombing of Damboa and other parts of Nigeria. We are grateful to Allah for the big victory he granted our members in Gwoza and made the town part of our Islamic Caliphate.” Even though Boko Haram has always stated its rejection of Western education and values in Nigeria, the current video is the first time the group’s leader has explicitly declared a Caliphate, a term implying that the areas under Boko Haram’s control would be governed according to strict Islamic codes. Mr. Shekau lashed out at Western nations for supporting Nigeria to fight his insurgent fighters. “We are in an Islamic Caliphate. We have nothing to do with Nigeria. We dont believe in this name, he said, vowing that his group would continue attacks to achieve greater territorial control. Mr. Shekau stated that Boko Haram released the video in order to explain its recent attacks, officially acknowledging that the Islamist insurgents carried out recent attacks in Damboa, Gwoza and other communities in Borno and Yobe States. In the video, he revealed that Boko Haram also executed some of its members whom he described as infidels.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 09:16:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015