A total of 338 hostages held by militant group Boko Haram have been rescued by troops who raided enclaves of the rebels near the Sambisa Forest located in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno, the army said on Wednesday.

The hostages – 192 children, 138 women and eight men – were rescued on Tuesday by troops of 28 Task Force Brigade of the Nigerian Army who carried out a successful raid on suspected Boko Haram camps at Bulajilin and Manawashe villages at the fringes of Sambisa Forest, a statement signed by army spokesman, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, said.

Some 30 Boko Haram fighters were also killed in the raid, the army statement said, adding the troops recovered arms and ammunitions from the rebels.

The freed hostages have been evacuated to Mubi, a town in the neighboring northeastern state of Adamawa.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered military chiefs to end the insurgency of Boko Haram in the most populous African country by December. But local people are doubting the certainty of the deadline given to rout out the ruthless group as more suicide attacks had taken place in parts of Nigeria since the order was given in August.

On Monday, Nigeria’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, said a new Task Force Brigade in the restive Borno State was strategically established to end the insurgency.

This location is very important and strategic, he said, noting the new task force has great impact toward defeating the Boko Haram group.

The Islamic State has made a big push to win the loyalty of Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa, and fighters in its ranks. For months, Islamic State boosters on social media have predicted Shabaab’s imminent defection. And the “caliphate” recently released numerous propaganda videos encouraging Somali jihadists to switch their allegiance from al Qaeda head Ayman al Zawahiri to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed “Caliph Ibrahim.” The videos targeting Shabaab’s rank and file have starred jihadists in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.

Thus far, however, the Islamic State’s anti-al Qaeda push in East Africa has had little success. While additional defections are possible, or even likely, the “caliphate” has not yet won over a substantial number of Shabaab members.

The only noteworthy defection to date came last week, when Abdiqadir Mumin, a Shabaab leader in the Puntland region, purportedly announced his allegiance to Baghdadi in an audio message released online. Mumin declared his fealty to Baghdadi on behalf of the “the mujahideen of Somalia,” but that was an exaggeration.

According to Reuters, which interviewed one of Mumin’s men, just 20 jihadists out of the 300 located in the Galgala hills of Puntland, where Mumin was based, have joined the Islamic State. According to SITE Intelligence Group, the Shahada News Agency, a pro-jihadist media group that reports on Somalia, has confirmed these figures based on “independent sources.”

If accurate, this obviously means that the remaining 280 or so fighters in the area have not followed Mumin’s lead. Indeed, Shahada News Agency reported that the “rest of the soldiers are loyal to” Shabaab “in its allegiance to al Qaeda.” The follower of Mumin interviewed by Reuters said the same: “The other fighters rejected us and remained in the Galgala hills.”

It is possible that more fighters have joined Mumin than these reports suggest. Still, the Islamic State has failed to win over a large number of defectors from within Shabaab’s guerrilla army. To put things in perspective, consider the overall scale of Shabaab’s operations.

The State Department notes that Shabaab “is estimated to have several thousand members, including a small cadre of foreign fighters.” Shabaab doesn’t possess as much territory as it once did, but the al Qaeda branch still controls significant turf and remains one of the most prolific insurgency organizations. According to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), Shabaab executed the third most terrorist attacks (nearly 500) of any perpetrator organization in 2014. Only the Islamic State and the Taliban carried out more.

By way of comparison, the Islamic State has yet to claim a single attack in Somalia, although it may do so in the near future. And while the “caliphate” may very well announce a wilayat (or province) in East Africa, there is no reason to believe, absent significant defections, that it will be nearly as strong as Shabaab.

One reason the Islamic State has been slow to expand into East Africa, even as it has declared “provinces” elsewhere on the continent, is that the “caliphate’s” men have run into stiff opposition from Shabaab’s leadership.

Shabaab’s leadership remains loyal to al Qaeda, hunts down defectors

Al Qaeda’s leadership is, of course, well aware that the Islamic State is attempting to poach from Shabaab’s ranks. In the long-delayed first episode of his “Islamic Spring” series, which was released last month, Ayman al Zawahiri recounted his communications with Ahmed Abdi Godane, who headed Shabaab until his demise in September 2014. Zawahiri explained that he and Godane had discussed the Islamic State’s attempt to split the jihadists’ ranks.

In a message sent in July or August of 2013, according to Zawahiri’s testimony in “Islamic Spring,” Godane asked Allah “to forgive the brothers” in the Islamic State for their “transgression” and to “restore them to the truth.” Godane addressed Zawahiri as “my sheikh” and asked him to be “patient” with the Islamic State and “attempt reconciliation and amendment.”

Godane was especially offended by the Islamic State’s rhetoric, because he and his men “strive for the restoration of the Islamic caliphate” incorporating Muslims around the globe. The Islamic State acts as if this is not the case, and has demanded the submission of al Qaeda’s regional branches.

In the spring of 2014, as explained in “Islamic Spring,” Zawahiri sent Godane a message of his own. “I know how sad you are about what is happening in the Levant, the eruption of blind strife there, the disdain for holy sanctities, the disavowal of settled matters such as the [Islamic] State’s pledge of allegiance to al Qaeda, their duplicity in this respect,” and “how they deem it permissible to practice takfir [labeling other Muslims as infidels] against their opponents,” Zawahiri explained to Godane, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal.

Zawahiri noted that he “even found” a video on the Internet “debating whether God’s humble servant [as Zawahiri referred to himself] is an infidel.”

“The one who declares God’s humble servant [Zawahiri] to be an infidel and blows up Abu Khalid al Suri, may God have mercy on him, will not abstain from blowing up, or declaring to be an infidel, anyone who criticizes him or opposes his projects,” Zawahiri continued. (Abu Khalid al Suri, an al Qaeda veteran, was Zawahiri’s representative in Syria and a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham until his death in February 2014.)

Zawahiri told Godane that he ordered Al Nusrah Front to avoid any “aggression” against the Islamic State and that he would also encourage Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s organization to return to Iraq for the sake of unity. After summarizing these messages to and from Godane, Zawahiri eulogized Shabaab’s fallen emir. The al Qaeda leader praised Godane’s “martyrdom.”

Turning to more recent events, Zawahiri used his first appearance in the “Islamic Spring” series to address his “brothers, the lions of Islam in East Africa,” telling them to “stand firm on the path.” Zawahiri also approved of Godane’s successor as Shabaab’s leader.

“I endorse their [Shabaab’s] choice of the noble brother, Shaykh Abu Ubaydah Ahmad Umar, as their emir, and I ask God to grant him success in bearing the responsibility of dawa [Islamic proselytizing] and jihad,” Zawahiri declared. “I request of him to exert all of his efforts to institute sharia as the undisputed ruler and master in East Africa.”

Al Qaeda’s most senior leader went on to offer Shabaab’s new emir advice, speaking as if Ahmed Umar rules over an emirate (state) or province. “May he seek recourse to gentleness, patience, and kindness, for they are the best helpers of the governor over his wilayat [province] and of the emir over his emirate,” Zawahiri said.

Shabaab’s leaders have repeatedly made their loyalty to al Qaeda’s leadership known. Just days after Godane’s death last year, the group reaffirmed its oath of fealty to Zawahiri. Shabaab’s propaganda throughout this year has routinely featured pro-al Qaeda messaging as well.

All of this means that the Islamic State has to overcome Shabaab’s role in al Qaeda’s international network in order to spawn a new “province” for the “caliphate” in East Africa. Shabaab is not making it easy.

Voice of America (VOA) reported in late September that Shabaab’s leadership had “issued an internal memo aimed at silencing pro-IS elements, who are accused of stirring up dissent.” The memo “reportedly stated the group’s policy is to continue allegiance with al Qaeda and that any attempt to create discord over this position will be dealt with according to Islamic law.” Any “speech made in public or in mosques about policies, operations and guidance first must be cleared with [Shabaab’s] media office,” VOA reported.

There is little doubt that some of the Shabaab’s younger members want to join the Islamic State. There may be additional figures like Mumin as well. But there is no way to accurately assess how many jihadists in Somalia belong to this pro-Islamic State category. And, to date, the Islamic State has little to show for its efforts.

While the Islamic State has loudly tried to woo Shabaab, the al Qaeda branch has been quietly silencing dissent. Shabaab’s Amniyat, an internal security organ that protects the group’s leadership, has been hunting down fighters who refuse to give up their pro-Islamic State ambition. Shabaab has reportedly detained or killed dozens of members who have gravitated to the Islamic State’s camp.

And Mumin’s decision to switch his allegiance has already provoked a backlash. On October 24, Al Muhajiroun, a group of “emigrant” fighters in East Africa, released a statement in English objecting to the “unhelpful pronouncement of a minority of individuals and their so-called bayat [allegiance] to those that have thus far failed to follow the Sunnah but expect to [unite] the Mujahideen.” Although Al Muhajiroun did not explicitly mention the Islamic State or Mumin, its statement was clearly aimed at them.

“As stated previously, the Emigrants of East Africa remain united behind our beloved brothers in Al Qaeda and [Shabaab],” Al Muhajiroun’s propaganda arm wrote.

longwarjournal.org

The Cameroonian army retook the town of Kerewa on the evening of 23 October, after it had earlier in the day been occupied by Nigeria-based Boko Haram Islamist militants.

Kerewa, which stretches across the border into Nigeria, is a town in the Far North region of Cameroon. Local reports suggest that the militants pulled out without offering much resistance. This comes after another attack by Boko Haram in the same region two days earlier that left eight villagers dead.

Similar to the later attack on Kerewa, Boko Haram made no attempt to hold on to the attacked village of Doulo beyond a couple of hours, before withdrawing back across the border into Nigeria.

Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, has said that his country’s decision to deploy troops in Yemen in support of the Saudi-led Arab coalition is a principled stand to restore legitimacy in Yemen, calling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea “a red line area”.

In a statement to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, Ghandour said, “Sudan’s decision to participate in the Saudi-led Arab coalition is to support the legitimacy in Yemen. It is a unified Arab stance supported by the Arab League.” He continued, “The decision came after we realised the seriousness of the situation in Yemen, as the Houthi militants took over the legitimate authority.”

Ghandour reiterated his country’s support to the Yemeni Government to reach political consensus based on the legitimacy principles, pointing out that the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea is an integral part of the security of Sudan.

Speaking on Saudi-Sudanese relations, the minister said, “They are at their best in history and we strive to enhance these relations in various fields.”

This statement came within days of Sudan deploying hundreds of troops in the City of Aden, in reference to Sudan expanding their participation in the Saudi-led Arab coalition against the Houthi rebels and Ali Abdullah Saleh forces.

The Sudanese President, Omer Hassan al-Bashir, announced earlier his country’s readiness to deploy 6,000 soldiers to Yemen, accompanied by the Sudanese Defence Minister, Awad bin Auf.

wam.ae

Three civilians were killed when a landmine exploded over the weekend in the northern Mali region of Kidal, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a statement on Sunday.

Two UN peacekeepers were injured, one of them seriously, when another explosion occurred nearby as MINUSMA forces were rushing to the scene of the explosion.

The statement did not give the nationality of the two injured peacekeepers, but “strongly condemned such acts that are meant to paralyse the mission’s operations on the ground, and hurt UN officials as well as innocent civilians.”

In an attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law and possibly re-create the old Kanem-Bornu Islamic Empire, Boko Haram is leading a ferocious campaign across the four countries surrounding Lake Chad on the edge of the Sahara Desert; namely, Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Earlier in March 2015, the group became affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) operating in Iraq and Syria. Since then Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau has taken a back seat and is yet to appear in any of the group’s videos. Following earlier appeals from Islamic militants from Sinai, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram is spurring al-Shabab in Somalia to become its ally by pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS; in a bid to strengthen IS’s presence in Africa.

Amnesty International estimates that Boko Haram militants have killed at least 3,500 civilians in 2015. However, the trend in recent attacks shows Boko Haram has lost capacity to directly battle the Nigerian military and has therefore resulted to guerrilla warfare.

Lake Chad Basin Partners Enforcing the Peace and Security Mandate

The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) was established in 1964 by the four countries bordering Lake Chad: Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. As part of its mandate, the commission promotes regional integration, peace and security across the Basin. Incidentally, each partner state has been attacked by the Boko Haram militants.

The spate of suicide bombing within the region has surged since May. In recent months, Boko Haram has come
under increased pressure from Nigerian forces, and is increasingly unable to capture or control territory in Nigeria’s northeast. Despite this, it continues to attack soft targets such as markets and places of worship using mostly young boys and girls under the age of 17 as human bombs.

Within the first few days of October, Boko Haram conducted brutal attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Hours after two bombs exploded near a mosque in northeastern Nigeria killing at least 30 people, four female suicide bombers blew themselves up early Friday, October 16^th killing at least 18 people and themselves: at least twenty people were also injure in the attacks. Thus though degraded, Boko Haram has shown its capacity to inflict significant damage remains.

The role of US troops in fighting Boko Haram

Deploying at the invitation of the Cameroonian government, American troops will provide airborne intelligence, surveillance and other reconnaissance (ISR) operations to support regional efforts against Boko Haram. During President Buhari’s visit to Washington in July, President Obama discussed strategies to end Boko Haram’s violent campaign, with a promise to provide military aid to the Multinational Joint Task Force combating the insurgency in the region.

An advance force of 90 troops was deployed to Cameroon on Monday, October 12^th and is already coordinating its operations with the regional multinational force to provide better intelligence on the cross-border activity of Boko Haram. Hitherto, the multinational troops have relied largely on human intelligence in the ongoing counterinsurgency mission hence the intelligence gathering support from the United States is critical at this time.

With the release of the Chibok school girls serving as a strategic advantage, Boko Haram may be forced to quickly agree to a dialogue with the Nigerian government before the girls are rescued thanks to the intelligence support from US troops.

While the troops will not be involved in direct assault on Boko Haram or its locations though “equipped with weapons for the purpose of providing their own force protection and security”, their involvement will certainly be a game changer in the ongoing counterinsurgency mission.

globalriskinsights.com

Troops of 5 Brigade Nigerian Army, weekend, destroyed all Boko Haram camps and enclaves at the border towns of Kerenowa and Chikun Gudu as well as their contiguous villages in Borno State.

Giving details of the operation, Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman said: “During the operation which is ongoing, troops discovered and destroyed over 20 well-fortified terrorist camps in the general area of Kerenowa.

“The camps include some at the gateway to Kerenowa, Gumada and Dogon Gida. In addition, the troops have also discovered that to evade aerial reconnaissance and bombardment, the terrorists have dug twin tunnels to conceal their facilities and routes in and out of the camp.

“Among facilities discovered were training areas equipped with instructional and training materials that include wooden guns, among others.

“The troops have also cleared Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, along the road linking Marte, New Marte and Kerenowa.

“It is apparent that Boko Haram terrorists lacked the will to fight as they are in obvious disarray, abandoning their camps fleeing and leaving behind vehicles, solar panels used to power devices, food and other logistics, beddings, various IEDs-making devices, cables and cords.

“The advancing troops’ morale remains very high and they exude confidence and zeal to destroy all known Boko Haram camps along their axis of advance.

“We still reiterate our call for citizens to remain confident in the ability of our troops to eliminate all remaining vestiges of the terrorists before the year runs out in line with Presidential directives.

“Citizens are also requested to kindly provide useful and credible information to the military about any known terrorists or sympathizers.”

Blast kills 5

In a related development, Borno Police Command, yesterday, confirmed the killing of five persons in Saturday’s suspected suicide attack near Maiduguri.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderemi Opadokun, made this known at a news conference in Maiduguri

He said:“There was explosion on Saturday, when four suspected female suicide bombers detonated explosives at Dala Yazaraye village, near Molai on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

“Five persons, including the four suicide bombers died in the explosion.“

Opadokun said security agents had cordoned off the scene.

He said: “Four people sustained injury and were taken to hospital. The area has been rendered safe by EOD personnel at the scene.“

vanguardngr.com