A Boko Haram faction led by the son of the group’s founder is trying to win over civilians by shunning the indiscriminate violence of its longtime figurehead that has alienated locals.
Eyewitnesses to a spate of recent raids attributed to Islamist fighters loyal to Abu Musab Al-Barnawi in northeast Nigeria have said they repeatedly told villagers they would not be harmed.
Others say mass violence has been reduced in parts of the northern Borno state around Lake Chad now controlled by Barnawi and Mamman Nur, his right-hand man who is seen by some as the real leader.
Herdsman Jabbi Sambo said jihadists loyal to the elusive Boko Haram chief, Abubakar Shekau, repeatedly stole or killed their prized cattle, abducted women and children, and razed their homes.
“Things changed dramatically” when Nur took over control of the Lake Chad area, Sambo, from the town of Shuwaram, he told AFP.
“The raids and the killings stopped and we were free to move with our herds for grazing.”
Nur, the alleged mastermind behind the 2011 bombing of a UN building in Abuja that killed 24, told them in person that he “wanted to build trust and confidence between his group and people in the area”.
The only proviso was that they did not cooperate with the military, he added.
– Developing networks –
Balaraba Abdullahi was abducted from Baga in January 2014 and was held for three years by the group, whose insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.6 million homeless.
She said conditions were “extreme” in the bush, with a lack of food and widespread disease, while “executions and amputations” for crimes such as adultery, spying or theft were commonplace.
“A little offence would attract death. All of these happened under Shekau but things changed under Mamman Nur,” said the 20-year-old, who was eventually released.
Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in March 2015, but in August last year it announced that Barnawi was in charge of its “West Africa province”.
Barnawi, whose father Mohammed Yusuf founded Boko Haram in 2002 with Shekau as his deputy, has criticised the latter’s indiscriminate targeting of civilians and fellow Muslims.
Instead of suicide bombings causing mass casualties, his faction has vowed to concentrate on fighting “Christian crusaders” in Africa, as well as the government and military.
Yan St-Pierre, from the Modern Security Consulting Group in Berlin, said the Barnawi faction was “keeping a low profile and is looking for support in local communities”.
“It’s patiently developing networks around Lake Chad to set itself up for the long term, a bit like Daesh is doing in Iraq and Syria,” he added, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Omar Mahmood, a researcher with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, said Barnawi’s men were seeking to gain ground and build up their capacity to attack.
The idea was to create a “sustainable safe haven” after being forced out of captured towns and villages by a regional military counter-offensive that began in early 2015.
– ‘Skin-deep’ –
Despite the reassurances of Barnawi fighters, recent events demonstrate the group is still willing to kill civilians.
Last week, three men from Kalari Abdiye in the Konduga area were killed after being accused of providing information to the military. A fourth was mutilated.
Abubakar Gamandi, the head of the Borno fishermen’s union, said his members had warned people that the apparently conciliatory approach was only “skin-deep”.
“They may not be as vicious as Shekau and his men but the Mamman Nur faction cannot be trusted. They are only projecting a humane face because it suits their agenda,” he said.
“If they have to kill to achieve their goal they will be as bad as Shekau or worse. It is all about interest.”
Gamandi said Barnawi’s men slaughtered a cattle driver’s 100 cows “as punishment for selling herds to ‘infidels’” and whipped a fisherman who wanted to sell his catch back home rather than to the group.
Food is looted from civilians who rely on hand-outs from aid agencies, he said.
In effect they were “killing slowly through hunger”, Gamandi said.
Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos, from the French Institute of Geopolitics in Paris, said the tactics showed how both factions of Boko Haram were still locally focused.
There appeared to be no financing or even foreign fighters from IS, he said, adding: “The only concrete link… is they have helped Boko Haram’s publicity by relaying it around the world.”
트레져스 오브 아즈텍
그러나 왕수인의 제자인 그는 충동적인 성격을 가지고 있다.
포츈 래빗
Fang Jifan이 말했습니다. “폐하께서는 우리가 Zhen Guofu를 위해 무기를 만드는 것을 허용하지 않으셨습니까?”
EGGC
Fang Jifan은 웃고 싶었습니다. Dowager 황후를 대신하여 내 세부 정보를 확인하는 것 같습니다.Fang Jifan은 마음 속으로 영국 공작이 제거되면 내 아버지에게 가야 할 것이라고 생각했습니다.
슬롯 게임
이것이 어떻게 가능합니까, 폐하가 지금 살아있는 모든 사람들 앞에 서 있습니다.
EGGC
이 시대에 죄책감에 대한 두려움은 큰 사람에게 극도로 부끄러운 일입니다.
오션 슬롯
그런데 이때 높은 안뜰 담장 뒤에서 누군가가 나왔다.
플레이 슬롯
당연히 왕수인도 두통이 있을 수밖에 없다.
프라그마틱 무료
Hongzhi 황제는 감동적으로 말했습니다. “고된 일, 힘든 일입니다.”
Engage in intense online combat! Hawkplay
골드 킹
Wang Shouren은 사막에 있었고 이미 전쟁성에 자세한 전투 보고서를 보냈습니다.
슬롯 보증 사이트
Hongzhi 황제는 사건 뒤에 앉아 Zhang Mao가 그를 만나러 오기를 기다렸습니다.
트레져스 오브 아즈텍
Fang Jifan은 뒤를 돌아보며 다정한 Zhang Yuanxi를 바라 보았습니다. “무슨 일이야?”
에그벳 도메인
Zhang Mao는 여전히 주먹을 높이 들고 헐떡이는 문에 무의식적으로 매료되었습니다.
메이저 토토 사이트
“쉬징이 언제 돌아올지 모르겠어요?” 홍지황제가 우울하게 말했다.
무료 메가 슬롯 머신
Xiao Jing이 떠나려고 할 때 Hongzhi 황제는 갑자기 “Xiao Banban”이라고 그를 막았습니다.
메이저 슬롯 사이트
탕자로부터의 Fang Jifan의 약속은 많은 돈의 가치가없는 것 같지만.
에그벳 계열
폐하께서 3일 후에 결과를 밝히라고 하셨으니… 당연히 3일이 될 것입니다.
79 슬롯
누군가 약간 떨면서 일어섰고, 눈물이 두 줄로 흘러내렸습니다.
슬롯 꽁 머니 사이트
그는 처음에 왕세자 전하를 몰래 비웃었다는 것을 기억했습니다.
707 벳
“차오웬 후배를 해치려고 채널 녹음기를 사고 싶다고도 들었어요!”
슬롯 꽁 머니
이것 역시 죽음에 이르게 하는 독성이 있지만, 응급 치료가 반드시 죽은 사람을 되살리는 것은 아닐 수 있습니다.
힐튼 슬롯
“…” Abu Hua는 마른 입술을 핥았지만 아무 말도하지 않았습니다.
빅 슬롯
Hongzhi 황제는 여전히 충격을 받았으며 마침내 천천히 회복되었습니다.
퀵 슬롯
이 말은… 실제로 Hongzhi 황제의 마음을 약간 움직였습니다.
원큐 슬롯
원래는 이번에는 알고 있는 폐하 앞에서 얼굴을 보여주고 싶었는데…
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
对Telegram的功能感到好奇吗?访问电报中文版下载,获取最全面的信息。了解其速度、安全性以及在各种设备上的同步能力。