Dozens killed as Boko Haram, ISWAP resume deadly clashes as reconciliation collapses in Lake Chad

By: Zagazola Makama

Fresh clashes have erupted between fighters of Boko Haram’s Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), following the collapse of a short-lived truce between the rival terrorist groups.

Zagazola report that the long-standing rivalry between the Bakoura-led Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction and ISWAP has degenerated into another violent phase with dozens of ISWAP fighters killed.

Sources said that the latest confrontation was part of an ongoing cycle of reprisal attacks that began after the killing of Abu Abass, a senior JAS tax collector, by ISWAP fighters in September. The discovery of the cause of his death reportedly infuriated Bakoura’s camp, prompting multiple revenge raids on ISWAP-held territories.

Sources told Zagazola Makama that the attack occurred on Saturday, Oct. 26, when a faction loyal to Mohammed Hassan, a top commander under the Bakoura-led JAS group, launched a coordinated attack on an ISWAP stronghold at Mangari, in the central area of the Lake Chad region, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.

The assault, carried out with multiple watercraft between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., resulted in the death of scores of ISWAP fighters and the capture of weapons and supplies. The attackers were said to have advanced from Toumbun Gini towards Abujan Ruwa, overpowering ISWAP’s defensive lines in the area.

Field assessment suggests that the JAS faction overpowered ISWAP during the offensive, seizing weapons and other valuable items. The exact number of casualties remains unclear due to the remoteness of the area and the ongoing movement of rival units across the Lake Chad islands as fatalities may be more.

According to sources, the renewed hostilities marks a significant breakdown in the fragile non-aggression pact earlier reached between the two extremist movements.

Earlier, on Oct. 8, JAS forces loyal to Bakoura launched a series of coordinated assaults on ISWAP elements in Toumbun Mairi, inflicting heavy losses. The Oct. 26 engagement at Mangari is believed to be a continuation of those retaliatory strikes.

“The Bakoura-led faction has vowed to avenge the killing of its members and commanders,” source told Zagazola. “They accuse ISWAP of betrayal after both sides had agreed to suspend hostilities.”sources said.

On the other hand, ISWAP units are currently converging for retaliatory operations. Commanders have been directed to coordinate major offensives and eliminate all Boko Haram members.

The rivalry between JAS and ISWAP has always been brutal. Whenever one faction suffers losses, it retaliates immediately, often spilling into civilian areas who sometimes get killed for trespassing in any of the acclaimed territories of the terrorists

Since the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in 2021, the insurgency has splintered into competing factions, with intermittent periods of uneasy truce punctuated by bloody reprisals.

The Lake Chad Basin straddling Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon remains the epicentre of jihadist activity in the region, with both Boko Haram and ISWAP competing for control of key smuggling routes, fishing zones, and taxation points. The renewed infighting could further weaken the operational capacity of both groups but may also trigger intensified attacks against civilian targets as each side seeks to assert dominance.

Meanwhile, Army troops of Operation Hadin Kai have been placed on heightened alert, with operations ongoing to decimate the terrorists in their enclaves, prevent infiltration or coordinated assaults on military locations and civilian settlements in the North East.

Zagazola Makama is a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region
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Dozens killed as Boko Haram, ISWAP resume deadly clashes as reconciliation collapses in Lake Chad