AFRICA/NIGERIA – Suicide bombings in Gwoza: is it a rivalry between jihadists for control of the area?
Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – The number of victims of the quadruple bombings carried out on June 29 in Gwoza, in Borno state, in north-eastern Nigeria, has risen to 32. Some of the 50 or so wounded died in hospital, where they were being treated for serious injuries. Four women carried out the four suicide bombings. The first, accompanied by a child, blew herself up at a wedding reception. A second suicide bomber blew herself up at a checkpoint when she was stopped by the military for a check. Then a third explosion occurred in a hospital, also caused by a suicide bomber. Finally, a fourth suicide bomber blew herself up during the Muslim prayer for the victims of the first bombing. According to police, further attacks have been prevented in the city of 300,000 inhabitants, which was occupied by Boko Haram in 2014 and recaptured by the Nigerian military with the help of the Chadian military in 2015. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but investigators suspect that they were carried out by one of the two main groups into which Boko Haram has split, namely the “Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad” (JAS). The other group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has joined the Islamic State and became the “West Africa Province”. The two rival formations have been fighting for control of large areas of northeast Nigeria since the death of JAS leader Abubakar Shekau in 2021. Shekau committed suicide to avoid falling into the hands of the rival group that had surrounded his hideout. The JAS is active between the islands of Lake Chad (on whose shores lie Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon) and the Mandara Mountains. The two factions have fought each other bitterly and both have lost several men in clashes between the jihadists. The two groups have different attitudes towards the Muslim civilian population, which makes up the majority of the population in the area. While the JAS sees all civilians as prey to be plundered, ISWAP treats Muslims differently from non-Muslims. It has tried to improve relations with the Muslim civilian population by taxing them and creating its own version of law and order, rather than robbing them, as the JAS does. The JAS, which is much less bureaucratized than the other, tends to grant its military commanders wide autonomy. Thus, the June 29 attacks could have been planned by a local faction or by the JAS leadership, which has its stronghold not far from Gwoza. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 2/7/2024)
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Publish date : 2024-07-02 12:03:32
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