The so-called Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgent group has launched its most successful military campaign to date in northeast Nigeria’s Lake Chad Basin region. Throughout May, ISWAP raided a series of supposedly impenetrable army bases, forcing the military’s withdrawal and the displacement of civilian communities—some of whom had been recently resettled by the Borno State government following its closure of internally displaced persons camps in the state capital, Maiduguri.
This renewed campaign highlights the major challenge increasingly posed by Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked extremist groups across West Africa: insurgents who are now better equipped, including with armored vehicles looted from the military, and utilizing new innovative tactics, such as near-simultaneous attacks on disparate sites.
Condensed excerpt from The New Humanitarian, June 2. Internal links added.
Photo via TNH
Nigeria: government abandonment amid brutal insurgency
Amnesty International stated on May 29 that Nigerian authorities have failed to protect their population from violent attacks carried out amid the ongoing armed conflict. The organization emphasized that the Nigerian government’s ineffective response to these attacks has resulted in a rising death toll and worsened the humanitarian crisis.
Amnesty noted that over 10,000 civilians have been killed in assaults by non-state armed groups across Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu took office in 2023. (Jurist)
Nigeria terror attack sparks renewed demands for accountability
Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the invasion of the Yelewata farming community that resulted in the death of approximately 200 people, calling on authorities to immediately act to end the violence. The statement came after gunmen attacked the community in the Nigerian state of Benue late June 13 amid a wave of “alarming escalations of attacks across Benue state.” (Jurist)