The Islamic State on Wednesday announced that Abu Musab al-Barnawi is the new leader of its West Africa Province.
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The Nigerian military has reported killing Shekau on multiple occasions, only to later confirm that the person they killed was an impersonator, of which Shekau, at his peak, had many. “He personally distanced himself from the killing of Muslim civilians by Boko Haram in 2012”, David Otto, CEO of global security provider TGS Intelligence Consultants, told IBTimes UK.
That’s no reassurance to people living in the areas affected by Boko Haram’s insurgency, which has spread from Northern Nigeria to parts of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
But for many Nigerians, Boko Haram’s leadership battle is not hugely worrying.
“People should know we are still around”, Shekau said in the ten-minute message released yesterday.
The publication by Al Naba did not mention the current status of Barnawi’s predecessor Abubakar Shekau, sparking long-standing debates over his fate.
“In an Islamic State publication, al-Barnawi threatens to bomb churches and kill Christians – and also pledges to halt attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims”.
Shekau confirmed the presence of ideological disagreements between the two camps, saying while his faction remains true to “wiping out every trace of disbelief”, the one led by Barnawi is flirting with “transgressors and disbelievers”.
Since previous year, Nigeria has a new leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator whose security forces are thought to be better equipped.
An Isis magazine carried an interview with him and said he was previously a Boko Haram spokesman.
A screenshot taken on July 13, 2014 from a video released by the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram shows Abubakar Shekau at the center.
Shekau in his latest speech still calls al-Baghdadi his “caliph”, and he accuses his enemies of “deceit and treachery” that have poisoned his relationship with the IS leader, AP reports. Strategic decisions such as leadership appointments are made by the spiritual leader of a terrorist group.
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“Boko Haram has lost its prestige and become hard to control [under Shekau]”.
