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What is the Boko Haram fighting for?
Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. The group has caused havoc in Africa’s most populous country through a campaign of bombings and attacks.
What is the meaning of Boko?
Boko means “inauthentic” or “fake”, says Mohammed Kabir of the BBC’s Hausa Service. It does not literally mean education. The word’s evolution is bound up with colonialism. In 1903 the Sokoto caliphate, which ruled parts of what is now northern Nigeria, Niger and southern Cameroon, fell under British control.
How many fighters does Boko Haram have?
Of the 2.3 million people displaced by the conflict since May 2013, at least 250,000 left Nigeria and fled to Cameroon, Chad or Niger. Boko Haram killed over 6,600 people in 2014….
| Boko Haram | |
|---|---|
| Designated as a terrorist group by | See section |
What is Boko Haram terrorism?
Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād (Arabic: جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, “Group of the People of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad”), is a terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.
Who started Boko Haram in Nigeria?
Mohammed Yusuf
Founding. Mohammed Yusuf founded the sect that became known as Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of the north-eastern state of Borno. He established a religious complex and school that attracted poor Muslim families from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
What is the role of Nigeria in the fight against ISIS?
Nigeria is engaged in intensive efforts to defeat terrorist organizations within its borders, including Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA). Nigeria is a vital member of the Defeat ISIS (D-ISIS) coalition and in October 2020, Nigeria co-hosted a virtual D-ISIS conference with the United States.
What exactly is the war in Niger?
It is a war with sometimes murky legal authority, one that began in the embers of the Sept. 11 attacks and traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was expanded to Yemen, Somalia and Libya before arriving in Niger, a place few Americans ever think of, let alone view as a threat.
Which countries are most affected by Islamic terrorism?
The largest numbers of incidents and fatalities caused by Islamic terrorism have occurred in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria.
Are American troops actually engaged in combat?
Perhaps even more significantly, the ambush has exposed holes in the argument that the Pentagon has made under three different administrations: that in many far-flung places, American troops are not actually engaged in combat, but just there to train, advise and assist local troops.