Boko Haram leader vows to defeat Niger and Cameroon force in videos posted
Kano - Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed in a new video released on Monday that the group would defeat a regional force fighting the extremists in Nigeria's far northeast, Niger and Cameroon.
Kano - Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed in a new video released on Monday that the group would defeat a regional force fighting the extremists in Nigeria's far northeast, Niger and Cameroon.
"Your alliance will not achieve anything. Amass all your weapons and
face us. We welcome you," he said in a 28-minute speech, one of three
videos posted by the Islamists on YouTube.
Troops from Nigeria have been backed by soldiers from Chad, Cameroon and
Niger in recent weeks because of increased concerns about Boko Haram's
threat to regional security.
In the second of the latest videos, images of the leader of the Islamic
State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are shown along with archive footage
and a voiceover recalling a battle between British colonial soldiers and
fighters from the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria.
Shekau has namechecked al-Baghdadi before but appears to be positioning
Boko Haram in a wider jihadi context by showing the Sokoto Caliphate,
which was dismantled by the British in the early 20th century.
"We never rose up to fight Africa. We rose up to fight the world," he said.
"We are going to fight the world on the principle that whoever doesn't
obey Allah and the Prophet to either obey or die or become a slave."
On Sunday, Boko Haram militants waged twin attacks in the town of Diffa
in southeast Niger, opening a new front in its offensive after repeated
attacks in Cameroon's far northern region.
The six-year uprising has become a regional crisis and on Saturday,
Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin agreed to muster 8,700 troops,
police and civilians to fight the group.
But Shekau dismissed the size of the force, which had previously been set at about 7,500.
"You send 7,000 troops? Why don't you send 70 million? This is small.
Only 7,000? By Allah, it is small. We can seize them one-by-one. We can
seize them one-by-one," he said in Arabic.
Shekau also directly threatened Chad's President Idriss Deby, whose
forces have attacked Boko Haram in the northeast Nigerian towns of
Gamboru and Malam Fatori in recent days.
Shekau's challenge comes after the United States said on Friday that
Boko Haram could face a stronger test against more capable regional
forces.
Washington estimates that Boko Haram has a core of between 4,000 and
6,000 fighters but is well-equipped after raiding Nigerian Army
positions.
Boko Haram leader vows to defeat Niger and Cameroon force in videos posted
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Oleh
healthandwealth
