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
