What is Boko Haram? Boko Haram is a threat to all of West Africa.

Militants of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram attacked a group of geologists carrying out oil exploration in the northeastern part of Nigeria, killing at least 50 people.

Boko Haram is a militant terrorist group of radical Islamists operating in the northeastern and northern states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The group also has cells in the regions of Niger, Cameroon and Chad bordering Nigeria.

Title, ideology

The full name of the group from the beginning of its existence is “Society of Adherents to the Dissemination of the Teachings of the Prophet and Jihad” (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad). On April 26, 2015, shortly after taking the oath to the terrorist group "Islamic State" (banned in the Russian Federation), the leaders of the sect announced their renaming to the "West African Province of the Islamic State" (Wilayah ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fi Gharbi Ifriqia; also in Russian-speaking sources there is the option “Islamic State in West Africa”).

"Boko Haram" is a popular name that can be translated from the Hausa language as "Western education is a sin." The leaders of Boko Haram themselves often speak out against this name, considering it too vulgar an interpretation of the goals of their struggle. However, it does convey the main message of the sect's ideology. In accordance with the views of its members, the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution, the principle of the water cycle in nature, as well as the big bang theory and other fundamentals modern natural science is contrary to orthodox Islam, is a sin and should be prohibited.

In addition to banning Western education, the group also opposes Western-style democracy and the principle of separation of powers, the secular nature of the state, as well as wearing Western clothing and other elements of modern Western culture.

Ideal political structure society, from the point of view of Boko Haram, is a state built on the basis of strict adherence to Sharia law, in which legislative, executive and judicial power is exercised locally by Sharia courts, formed from authoritative and enlightened interpreters of Islam.

History of appearance

The founding date of Boko Haram is considered to be 2002 and is associated with the activities of the radical Islamic preacher Abu Yusuf Mohammed Yusuf. Being a charismatic religious leader, Yusuf rallied young supporters of radical Islam around himself and began to call for the proclamation of a Sharia state in Nigeria, as well as a ban on Western education and an intensified fight against corruption. Originating in the state of Borno, the movement soon spread to the neighboring states of Yobe and Adamawa, and after them to the entire north of Nigeria.

In July 2009, clashes between Islamists and police in the capital of Borno state, Maiduguri, and the cities of Bauchi, Kano and some others, escalated into a real armed confrontation, in which over 800 people, mostly Boko Haram supporters, became victims. Islamist leaders, including Mohammed Yusuf, were arrested. A few days after his arrest, Yusuf was killed, according to the official police version - while trying to escape. In addition to him, several other authoritative members of the sect were killed in the same way.

After Yusuf's death, leadership of the group passed to Abubakar Shekau, a supporter of radical methods of struggle, including terrorism. The year after the suppression of the Islamist uprising and the killing of the leaders by militants was spent underground and in exile in neighboring Chad and Niger. In 2010, Boko Haram reasserted itself with a series of high-profile terrorist attacks and attacks on political opponents and civilians.

Constant targets of Boko Haram terrorist attacks are secular schools and other educational institutions, Christian churches, missions of Western countries and international organizations, as well as ordinary places where people gather (markets, supermarkets, bus stations). In addition to students, Christians and law enforcement officers, Nigerian politicians and Muslim spiritual leaders who criticize radical Islamists are also targets of such attacks. The group’s militants regularly resort to hostage-taking with the aim of their subsequent release for ransom or sale into slavery and forced marriage.

In June 2013, the Nigerian government designated Boko Haram a terrorist organization and banned its activities. Subsequently, its example was followed by the governments of Great Britain (July 2013), the USA (November 2013), Canada (December 2013), etc. On May 22, 2014, Boko Haram was recognized as a terrorist organization by the UN Security Council.

Connections with the terrorist world, financing

The source of funding for the organization is robberies, including banks, receiving ransom for hostages, as well as private contributions from businessmen in the northern region who use the group for their own struggle for power. It is assumed that the group can be financed by international terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda (banned in the Russian Federation), and supported by some political forces in Nigeria.

Boko Haram also maintains contacts with other international terrorist organizations, such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (banned in the Russian Federation), Al-Shabab, Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation), etc. Many of them The fighters were trained in camps in Afghanistan and took part in combat operations in Somalia and Mali.

On March 7, 2015, Boko Haram militants released a video in which they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, pledging to “listen and obey in times of hardship and prosperity,” and therefore soon announced their official renaming. However, in August 2016, militant leader Abubakar Shekau challenged the IS decision to appoint a wali (chief) in his place. West Africa Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who served for a long time as the “spokesman” of Boko Haram.

The attempt to change the leadership of the group was preceded by Shekau’s long absence from the videos it distributed, which gave rise to further rumors about his possible neutralization. However, on August 4, the leader of Boko Haram made himself known again, speaking in another video refuting his removal and confirming his intention to lead the fight for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in West Africa. Shekau also criticized the actions of the IS leadership, warning that the group he leads will not accept another leader appointed by an external decision. In the same video, he called her by her former name, used before affiliation with ISIS, without at the same time declaring an official split.

Occupation of the northeastern Nigerian states and the internationalization of the civil war

Since the beginning of 2014, Boko Haram has intensified its terrorist activities. As a result of a series of military operations, militants managed to capture a number of areas in the Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. In the territories under their control, militants carried out massacres of civilians, including women and children. Children are also often used by terrorists as suicide bombers when organizing terrorist attacks in cities outside the occupation zone. The militants' activities also spread to neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

A state of emergency has been in effect in three Nigerian states since May 14, 2013. Despite the efforts of the Nigerian security forces and their coalition partners, by January 2015 most of Borno State had come under Islamist control, and the presidential elections scheduled for February 2015 were in jeopardy.

International efforts to combat Boko Haram

The intensification of Boko Haram's terrorist activities has forced the governments of the countries of the Lake Chad basin, as well as the entire international community, to join forces in the fight against the group.

At the initiative of French President Francois Hollande, on May 17, 2014, a “mini-summit” was held in Paris with the participation of the heads of five states in the region - Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, as well as representatives of the United States, Great Britain and the European Union. The meeting participants agreed on a unified plan of action against the Islamists, including intelligence coordination, information exchange, central control of deployed assets, border surveillance, military presence in the vicinity of Lake Chad, as well as the possibility of intervention in at the slightest chance danger.

On July 23, in the capital of Niger, Niamey, a meeting was held between the ministers of defense, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Chad, following which a decision was made to create an interstate military unit for the joint fight against Boko Haram. Each country party to the treaty pledged to provide 700 soldiers. Benin later joined the coalition.

On January 16, 2015, in response to a call from the authorities of Cameroon, which was attacked by militants, a military operation began against the Islamists of the Chadian army. To assist the Cameroonian army, 400 units of military transport equipment were transferred to the territory of this country from N'Djamena. Having pushed the Islamists out of Cameroon, Chadian army units continued military operations in Nigeria together with the armed forces of coalition partners.

By April, coalition troops managed to achieve success in the fight against the group and liberate it from militants most territories in northeastern Nigeria. On July 27, 2015, representatives of the Nigerian army announced that Borno State had completely come under their control, but until the end of 2016, the militants held part of the Sambisa forest region (the last Boko Haram base in Sambisa was liquidated only on December 23 ). At the same time, the militants continue to resist in guerrilla warfare mode, systematically organizing sabotage and terrorist attacks both in Nigeria and Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

On March 6, 2015, the African Union approved the formation of a regional force to combat Boko Haram militants. It was decided to staff the contingent of the Joint Multinational Operational Forces with 10 thousand military personnel from Benin, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad. The headquarters is located in the capital of Chad - N'Djamena. On July 30, Nigerian General Elijah Abbach, who had previously led military operations of the Nigerian army against rebel groups in the Niger Delta region, was appointed commander of the contingent on July 30. In September 2015, the formation of the contingent was completed. Its total strength was 10,500 people (8,500 military personnel, as well as 2,000 police, gendarmerie and civilians).

On October 14, 2015, in response to increasing terrorist attacks in Northern Cameroon, US authorities authorized the dispatch of a detachment of 300 military personnel to Cameroon to assist the Cameroonian army in repelling Islamist aggression. The main task of American soldiers in Cameroon was declared to be conducting reconnaissance operations.

On August 23, 2016, the Nigerian armed forces announced that during the next military operation against Boko Haram, its leader Abubakar Shekau was mortally wounded, but this information was not subsequently confirmed.

The humanitarian crisis and the process of rebuilding war-torn areas

As a result of Boko Haram's terror in Nigeria since 2009, more than 20 thousand people have died, and about 2.3 million more have become displaced persons and refugees. On June 11, following a meeting of the presidents of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, as well as the Minister of Defense of Cameroon, it was decided to establish an urgent program for the development of territories affected by Boko Haram militants. The program budget is $66 million.

January 12, 2017 Deputy Secretary General UN Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Stephen O'Brien estimated the number of hungry people in the region suffering from Boko Haram terror at 7.1 million, noting that Last year it has at least doubled. O'Brien also said that 10.7 million people in four African countries are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the number of internally displaced people is 2.4 million, of which 1.5 million are children. According to him, about $1.5 billion will be required for humanitarian operations in the Lake Chad basin in 2017 - twice as much as last year.

On May 30, 2017, representatives of the Nigerian army announced that 1,400 people suspected of links to Boko Haram are currently being held in temporary detention centers. Some of them were captured as a result of military operations. After completion of the investigation, persons who have not committed serious crimes may be released and included in state program social integration former members sects

Struggle for leadership and rumors of a possible split

The rivalry for leadership of the group between Shekau and Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was openly supported by the Islamic State, gave rise to rumors about a possible split of Boko Haram into two factions. In particular, al-Barnawi called on the militants to abandon attacks on fellow Muslims and concentrate on the fight against military personnel involved in the counter-terrorism operation, Christians and citizens of Western countries.

In turn, on January 12, 2017, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brooke Zerihoun confirmed at a meeting of the UN Security Council that since October 2016, extremists have indeed become more likely to attack military targets and security forces. At the same time, extremists did not abandon their traditional tactics of terror against civilians, carrying out a double terrorist attack on December 9 at a city market in Madagali, a small city in the north of Adamawa State (two explosions killed 57 people).

Thousands of people have become victims of Islamists in Nigeria © PÍO UTOMI EKPEI / AFP / Getty Images
5/2/2015

Boko Haram - child killers

The conflict in Nigeria has claimed the lives of thousands of men, women and children, many of them killed by the armed group Boko Haram. Here you will find all the necessary information about the group that has brought chaos to Africa's most populous country.

What is Boko Haram?

The organization's full name is Jama'atu Akhlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad, but it is better known as Boko Haram (roughly translated "Western education is prohibited") and is an armed group opposed to the country's secular authorities.

They have been fighting the Nigerian government since 2009, carrying out terrorist attacks and raids on towns and villages, capturing and occupying large cities in the northeast of the country.

They fight against everything they see as the result of "Western influence", including elections and secular education. Since 2013, they have carried out at least 330 raids and attacks, killing at least 5,400 civilians in Northern Nigeria. The real number of victims is most likely much higher.

How many fighters are fighting for Boko Haram and where are they based?

The exact number of Boko Haram fighters is unknown. There are believed to be at least 15,000, but it is likely that there are many more.

As of January 2015, the group occupied and completely controlled approximately 15 regions in northeastern Nigeria. In addition, she partially controlled another 15 regions.

How are they organized? Who is leading them?

Their political and spiritual leader is Abubakar Shekau. He heads a council of elders called the shura, and took power after the previous leader, Mohammad Yusuf, was killed in prison by Nigerian police in 2009.

However, not all of Yusuf's followers joined Shekau. The International Crisis Group suggests that Boko Haram consists of three to six factions that sometimes cooperate and sometimes conflict.

Where do they get the money from?

There are many theories about where Boko Haram gets its money and weapons.

Some say the group has ties to Nigerian politicians and international jihadist groups who provide it with money and weapons.

At the same time, it is believed that Boko Haram militants receive most of their funds by looting captured cities, robbing banks and receiving ransoms for hostages.

How do they work?

Over the past few years, Boko Haram has carried out deadly attacks almost daily. Attacks increased in frequency in 2014, with at least 230 raids and attacks killing at least 4,000 civilians. In reality the numbers are likely higher.

Most of the raids took place in Borno and Yobe states, but there were also attacks in Abuja, Adamawa, Kaduna and Kano states and Cameroon. During fast-moving raids, Boko Haram fighters enter populated areas on motorcycles, cars and trucks. They go from house to house, ordering the residents to gather together. They either shoot all men who can hold a weapon or simply target those they believe are associated with the government or military. They often kidnap unmarried women and girls, as they did in April 2014 when they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok. The vast majority of them are still considered missing.

Boko Haram has also burned or severely damaged school buildings and killed teachers and children in targeted attacks on schools in the northeast. Many schools were forced to close as a result of these attacks.

In occupied cities, militants sometimes locked residents in their houses and demanded that anyone who wanted to travel anywhere obtain permission from them. Amnesty International received reports that Boko Haram used torture to force people to follow its rules, forced women and girls into marriage with members of the group, and recruited and used teenage children.

Who are their main victims?

Anyone Boko Haram believes supports the government is a possible target for the group, especially government officials, politicians and tribal leaders. Communities that have formed militias, which are pro-government armed groups, are at greater risk of being attacked by Boko Haram. Boko Haram militants attack both Muslims and Christians, although most attacks are unrelated to the victims' religion.

Why are they doing that? Are they driven by religion?

Boko Haram began as a movement fighting the secular authorities of the state. Over time, they began to attack anyone associated with the government whom they considered "infidels" regardless of their religion. They have also attacked Muslim leaders who do not support the group.

Boko Haram seeks to establish its rule over the population of northeastern Nigeria, allegedly inspired by its own interpretation of Islam. In August 2014, the leader of Boko Haram declared these territories a “caliphate.”

What is the Nigerian government doing to stop them?

In May 2013, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in three states: Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. It has carried out several military operations against Boko Haram. State of emergency was extended twice and the President requested another extension in November 2014, which still must be approved by the National Assembly.

However, Boko Haram has shown no signs of weakening and, in attempting to stop it, the military has committed a range of human rights violations against suspected Boko Haram supporters, including torturing and killing them. There is evidence that such violations by the military are systematic and widespread.

What is the world doing to stop Boko Haram?

In May 2014, the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council added Boko Haram to its list of entities subject to targeted financial sanctions and arms embargoes.

Several countries, including France, the UK and the US, pledged assistance to Nigeria following the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok in April 2014. This assistance included the provision of intelligence information, training of the Nigerian military, and joint efforts to create a regional anti-terrorism strategy.

For a number of years, Chad, Niger and Nigeria led the Multinational Integrated Task Force to secure the borders between these countries and to combat Boko Haram.

The member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin decided on October 7, 2014 to create a new Multinational Integrated Operational Force (MCTF) to combat Boko Haram. While the details of the new MEAs remain unclear, participating countries have approached the African Union and the UN to seek authority. The creation of the IUEC was discussed at a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council on January 29, 2015.

About the most brutal terrorist group in the world

The Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram ranked third in the “global terrorism index”, calculated by the number of attacks, the number of deaths and the level of material damage caused, according to the Institute of Economics and Peace, in 2015, after Iraq and Afghanistan. However, based on the number of people killed, it was recognized as the most brutal and bloody extremist group in the world.

In 2014, she had 6,644 lost souls on her account. In terms of this indicator, it even surpassed the Islamic State, whose victims then became 6,073 people. However, until the abduction of 276 girls in April 2014 from a boarding school in the town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria and the pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State in March 2015, the activities of this extremist organization did not receive adequate coverage in the world media.

Created in 2002 by the famous Islamic preacher Muhammad Yusuf in northern Nigeria in the city of Maiduguri in Borno State, from a small religious sect it has now grown into one of the most active terrorist groups in Africa. Her official name translated from Arabic - “Society of adherents to the dissemination of the teachings of the prophet and jihad.” In the Hausa language, Boko Haram means “Western education is a sin.” The main goal The group is introducing Sharia law throughout Nigeria, including where Christians live, eradicating the Western way of life and creating an Islamic state.
The conflict between the adherents of this movement and the central government of the country, in addition to the ideological factor, is based primarily on socio-economic reasons, aggravated by chronic political instability and acute inter-tribal and regional contradictions. Although the average per capita income in Nigeria is about $2,700 per year, its population is one of the poorest in the world. Approximately 70% of Nigerians live on $1.25 a day. At the same time, 72% of the population lives in poverty in the northern states, 35% in the eastern states and 27% in the western states.

The bulk of Boko Haram supporters are students of religious educational institutions in the northern regions of the country, university students and office workers who are left without work, a huge contingent of unemployed rural youth, the urban lower classes, and religious fanatics.

Representatives of the Muslim elite of the northern states were also seen as sympathizing with Boko Haram. Ethnically, the backbone of the group consists of people from the Kanuri tribe, which accounts for 4% of the country's approximately 178 million population.

Having begun their terrorist activities in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, the organization’s militants gradually began to spread it to other parts of the country, attacking Nigerian army posts and police stations. However, despite warnings from the governor of Plateau State, retired General Y. Jang, about the threat of the emergence of a dangerous terrorist organization, authorities in Abuja considered cases of extremist attacks on their opponents as manifestations of ordinary banditry and religious clashes that have been occurring here regularly since the country gained independence.

The apotheosis of terror was the attempted revolt of Boko Haram, led by its leader Muhammad Yusuf, on July 26, 2009, the goal of which was to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. In response, the Nigerian government declared an all-out war to eradicate this organization. The Nigerian army and security forces carried out large-scale operations to physically destroy Islamists. In total, about 800 militants were eliminated, including their leader, who was allegedly killed while trying to escape. Within a few months, Boko Haram was believed to be finished by the Nigerian authorities. But, as further developments showed, the group was not destroyed; it only stopped its activities for a while, going underground.

The Algerian terrorist group Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operating in the Sahel zone has made a lot of efforts to revive Boko Haram. The surviving supporters of Muhammad Yusuf, who fled Nigeria, met in Chad with representatives of AQIM, who offered them their services to restore the organization. Algerian terrorist leader Abdelmalek Droukdel promised his “Salafi brothers” weapons and equipment to take revenge on the ruling “Christian minority” in Nigeria for the murders of “martyr Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf” and his Muslim companions. Many members of the group were sent to training camps in Arab countries and Pakistan. Abubakar Shekau, who became the head of the organization, traveled to Saudi Arabia with a group of his supporters, where he met with representatives of Al-Qaeda and discussed issues of military training of militants and receiving financial assistance.

As for the organization’s sources of funding, back in 2002, Osama bin Laden sent one of his associates to Nigeria to distribute $3 million among local Salafis. And one of the recipients of this help was Muhammad Yusuf. At the initial stage of the group’s activities, the main source of funding was donations from its members. But after establishing ties with the Algerian AQIM, channels opened up for Boko Haram to receive assistance from various Islamist groups in Saudi Arabia and in the UK, including the Al-Muntada Trust Fund and the World Islamic Society. In February 2014, Nigerian police arrested Sheikh Muhyiddin Abdullahi, the foundation's director in Nigeria, on suspicion of financing Boko Haram. Even earlier, in September 2012, David Elton, a member of the House of Lords of the English Parliament, accused the same fund of providing assistance to Nigerian terrorists.

A significant source of Boko Haram's income is the kidnapping of foreigners and wealthy Nigerians. Nigerian Islamists do not disdain banal robbery, carrying out regular attacks on branches of local banks.

Based on the fact that, according to the French Ministry of Defense, each recruit who joins the ranks of Boko Haram receives an entrance bonus of 100 euros, and for subsequent participation in each military operation 1000 euros and for capturing weapons 2000 euros, we can make the conclusion is that the financial base of the group is quite significant.

After its resurgence in 2010, Boko Haram sharply intensified its activities, committing hundreds of mass terrorist attacks in the following years, resulting in thousands of deaths. Thus, in September 2010, militants attacked a prison in the city of Bauchi, where members of the organization arrested during the rebellion were kept. Approximately 800 prisoners, of whom about 120 were Boko Haram members, were released. In August 2011, a suicide bomber rammed a car bomb into the entrance to the UN headquarters in Abuja. As a result of the explosion, 23 people were killed and 80 were injured. January 2012 was marked by six explosions in the city of Kano, the second largest in Nigeria. The jihadists attacked the regional police headquarters, the state security establishment and the immigration building. A month later, Islamists stormed a prison in the town of Coton Karifi, freeing 119 prisoners.

In recent years, the scope of Boko Haram’s terrorist activities has expanded beyond the borders of Nigeria and has embraced Cameroon, Chad and Niger, to which the United States provides assistance in training military personnel and supplies weapons, while demonstratively refusing to supply weapons to Nigeria for the reason gross violations human rights by the Nigerian Army against civilians. The most high-profile operations carried out by jihadists in Cameroon were abductions from native village the wife of the country's vice president and Sultan Kolofat with their family in July 2014 and 10 Chinese construction workers in May. In October 2014, they were all released, apparently for ransom, but Cameroonian authorities refused to comment on this matter. No less high-profile actions were carried out in Chad, where on June 15, 2015, as a result of explosions in the capital of N'Djamena, carried out near the buildings of the police academy and police headquarters by four suicide bombers, 27 people were killed and about 100 were injured. varying degrees gravity.

In total, over the past 6 years in Nigeria and neighboring countries, about 20 thousand people have died at the hands of Boko Haram militants and more than 2 million have been temporarily displaced.

Against the backdrop of a sharp increase in the terrorist activities of Boko Haram, many in Nigeria began to wonder: is it not a banal political tool used by influential figures in the North and South of Nigeria, as well as external forces, to put pressure on the federal authorities? In this regard, the statement of the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslims, Sultan Abubakar Mohammed Saad, of Nigeria’s Muslims, deserves the most serious attention: “Boko Haram still remains a mystery.” He called on Nigerian authorities to launch a thorough investigation "to get to the bottom of the matter" about the group. “I think there is a bigger picture that no one sees except those who are behind it,” the Sultan emphasized. According to some analysts, the deliberate elevation from the very beginning of the activities of Boko Haram, a purely local extremist organization, to the level of a national, and today a serious regional threat, is explained by the fact that they are going to use it to aggravate inter-religious and inter-tribal relations in order to weaken the central government or even for the collapse of the state at a time that the forces behind it consider most suitable. In addition to external actors, not only part of the northern elite may be interested in this, but also certain circles in the southern regions who dream of a “new Biafra” (the secession of oil-producing states from Nigeria) and do not want to share income from oil exports with the northerners.

In one of his speeches, speaking about terrorism, ex-president countries, Goodluck Jonathan noted that there are Boko Haram sympathizers even in the government and secret services.

As for the US position in relation to the processes taking place in Nigeria, and to the terrorist organization in particular, this position, as on many other issues, bears the stamp of double standards. Having announced the inclusion of three leaders of the group led by Abubakar Shekau on the list of international terrorists, the US State Department, until November 2013, when the victims of the jihadists began to number in the thousands, opposed the inclusion of Boko Haram in the register of terrorist organizations on the grounds that it “is not poses a direct danger to the United States" and is only a threat of regional significance. This is despite the fact that back in 2011, the head of the US Africa Command, General Carter Ham, noted that the three largest groups in Africa, namely the Algerian Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb, the Somali Al-Shabaab and the Nigerian Boko Haram strengthen ties to carry out terrorist actions against the United States. Each of them, the general emphasized, poses “a significant threat not only to the region, but also to the United States.” And the leaders of Boko Haram themselves have repeatedly threatened to attack American targets, calling the United States “a country of prostitutes, infidels and liars.”

The presence of such a strong lever of influence on the Nigerian government as the terrorist organization Boko Haram, although sponsored by other forces, for the time being did not at all contradict the “national interests” of the United States in Africa, where China is beginning to gain increasing influence.

Cooperation between Nigeria and China, which is gaining unprecedented momentum, is causing serious concern Washington.

Trade between the two countries increased from $384 million in 1998 to $18 billion in 2014. China has invested more than $4 billion in the country's oil infrastructure and developed a four-year plan to develop Nigerian trade, Agriculture, telecommunications and construction. According to conservative estimates, Beijing has invested more than $13 billion in the Nigerian economy as of 2015. In November 2014, a contract was signed between China and Nigeria for the implementation of the largest Chinese infrastructure project abroad worth $11.97 billion - construction railway 1,402 km long from the economic capital of the country, Lagos, to the city of Calabar in the east.

During his visit to Beijing in April of this year, the current President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, noting “China’s sincere desire to help Nigeria,” emphasized that “Nigeria should not miss such an opportunity.” All this contributes rapid growth the authority of the Celestial Empire and sympathy for it from the local population. According to a 2014 BBC survey, 85% of Nigerians have a positive view of Chinese activities in their country, while only 1% disapprove. According to the experts who conducted this study, this gives reason to consider Nigeria the most pro-Chinese country in the world. And, as noted in one of the publications, this cannot but worry the United States. So don't be surprised if one day global community suddenly considers, the observer writes, that the President of Nigeria has “lost legitimacy”, and the country needs “democratic transformations” under outside jurisdiction. Is it for this reason that the Nigerian government, quite unexpectedly, to the great regret of the Americans, in December 2014 refused US services to train a separate Nigerian battalion to combat terrorism, and in 2015, according to Nigerian media reports, turned to Russia, China and Israel with a request to provide assistance in training special forces and supply the necessary military equipment and equipment to fight Boko Haram.

With the rise of President Muhammad Buhari to power in May 2015 and the creation of an 8,700-strong multinational force of Benin, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad, Boko Haram has suffered serious military damage. The bulk of the militants took refuge in the inaccessible Sambisa forest on the border with Niger, while the other part went underground, from where they continue to carry out terrorist attacks. Despite the losses suffered, the group still poses a great threat to the security of the region and retains the combat capabilities to carry out major operations. So, as recently as June 4 of this year, it carried out an attack on a military garrison near the village of Bosso in the southeast of Niger, as a result of which 30 soldiers from Niger were killed, 2 from Nigeria and 67 people were wounded. According to France Presse, hundreds of militants were involved in the operation.

When assessing the prospects for the further development of Islamic radicalism in Nigeria, one must certainly take into account the dynamics of Islamization of the country, which is noticeably gaining momentum.

According to the American research organization PEW, 63% of Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, support the introduction of Sharia law, and more than half of those surveyed believe that the Islamic caliphate will be re-established in their lifetime.

If we add to this that the economic basis and other factors contributing to the growth of terrorism, such as the huge gap in the incomes of the poor population and the local elite, corruption on an unprecedented scale, inter-tribal and regional rivalry not only persist, but very often tend to worsen, then The fight against terrorism in Nigeria will drag on for many years. This is evidenced, among other things, by the practice of the counter-terrorism fight against AQIM in Algeria and Al-Shabab in Somalia, which, despite all possible measures to neutralize them, continue their terrorist activities, spreading them to new countries. Recent bloody attacks by jihadists in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya confirm this disappointing conclusion.

Special for the Centenary

Boko Haram in the modern sense is the name of a radical Muslim terrorist organization operating in northeastern Nigeria. Literally, “Boko Haram” translates as “Western education is prohibited.” This group emerged in 2002. Its founder is considered to be Mohammed Yusuf.

Boko Haram has opposed the influence of Western culture since its formation. In the city of Maiduguri, Yusuf built a religious complex that included a mosque and a school. This complex provided education and training for supporters of radical views. This did not cause concern among the population and the government. Many Muslims in Nigeria even saw the need for such an organization and supported its endeavors. In 2004, Mohammed Yusuf moved to the city of Gangnam, where he created a base from where attacks on police stations began.

In 2009, Mohammed Yusuf organized a rebellion against the current government, with the goal of creating an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The rebellion was suppressed, and as a result of armed clashes, Mohammed Yusuf was arrested and killed. His successor was Abubakar Shekau. It has been observed that since this successor began to rule Boko Haram, the actions of the group's supporters have become more brutal. Explosions in in public places. All attacks on markets and shops (with the aim of seizing food), as well as attacks on police stations, were almost always accompanied by murders and robbery.
But in a special and one might say purposeful way, Boko Haram acts against the education system. School teachers are target number one. More than 150 teachers have been killed since the existence of this group. Some school students were also killed. But perhaps the most famous and shocking event occurred on April 14, 2014, when more than 200 schoolgirls were taken from one school. Residents around the world are concerned about their fate. Girls from 12 to 16 years old. According to a Chibok town elder, older girls were sold and taken to Cameroon. The borders in northern Nigeria are not controlled by the authorities, so it is simply impossible to accurately predict the actions of Boko Haram militants.

Over the past year, more than 1,500 Kenyan civilians have been killed and more than 200,000 forced from their homes. This causes protests against the current government.

At the same time, uncertainty encourages local residents to unite and independently fight back against Boko Haram militants. According to a BBC report on May 15, local residents of Borno state managed to resist an attack by Boko Haram Islamists, as a result of which about 200 militants were killed.

It is painful to hear about the tragic reports that come from different parts of the world. But it's especially heartbreaking when these messages concern children, for whom, like these Nigerian girls, their lives changed literally in an instant.

Boko Haram arose with the support of the local population, who in 2002 could not have imagined the grief it would turn into for them. Since the Islamists began attacking civilians, they have lost their support and their popularity has been steadily declining.

2014 turned out to be an extremely eventful year. The annexation of Crimea, the beginning of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, an armed coup in Thailand, Operation “Indestructible Rock” in the Gaza Strip, the rapid advance of ISIS* in Syria and Iraq. Against this background, the mass abduction of Nigerian schoolgirls in April 2014 by the little-known Boko Haram group * was somewhat drowned in the streams of information noise. Meanwhile, the group is one of the burning hotbeds of extremism on the dark continent and global threat for all of West Africa.

As background, it is worth talking a little about Islam in Africa. The first Muslims crossed into modern-day Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea to find refuge in modern-day Ethiopia as early as the early 7th century. The majority of Muslims in Africa are Sunni, but African Islam is not static and is constantly changing under the influence of social, economic, and political conditions. It is often adapted to African cultural contexts and perspectives, and forms various new forms.

The spread of Islam in West Africa is directly associated with the so-called Fulani (or Fula) Jihad. The Fula originate in the Senegal River valley, where they founded their kingdoms. Until about the beginning of the 9th century, they continued their migration to the regions of Bundu, Bamboo, Diomboko, Kaarta and Bagan. And around the 11th century AD, Islam took root among them.

From 1750 to 1900 they participated in large quantities holy wars (jihad) under the banner of Islam. In the first half of the 19th century, the Fula conquered two important empires. One was based in Masina, controlled by Timbuktu, the other - Sokoto, included the Hausa city-states (Hausaland, northern Nigeria, southern Niger), part of Borno and Western Cameroon.

As a result, the Caliphate of Sokoto was created - an Islamic state with Sharia law, a caliph and emirs. At the beginning of the 20th century, Sokoto was included in the British Protectorate of Nigeria, but the regional elite retained their power. Currently, the Sultans of Sokoto retain their power as the spiritual heads of Muslims in Nigeria.

Having been dormant for a long time, Islam in Nigeria began to gain strength since the end of the 20th century. The 1963 census showed that 26 percent of Nigerians were Muslim, 62 percent were Christian and 14 percent practiced traditional beliefs. However, since 1990, Islam began to permeate daily life Nigerians. Public meetings began and ended with Muslim prayer, and most of the population knew at least some Arabic prayers and the five pillars of the religion. In 2009, the number of Muslims exceeded the number of Christians.

Large numbers of Muslims live in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast and much of West Africa. There are also fewer, but still significant numbers of immigrants living in South Africa.

In the context of the general Islamization of the region, the trend towards an increase in the number of radical Islamic groups is not surprising. One of them was Boko Haram, founded by Mohammed Yusuf around 2002 in the city of Maiduguri.

The official name of the group is “Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad” (translated from Arabic - Society of Adherents to the Dissemination of the Teachings of the Prophet and Jihad). It received the name “Boko Haram” (Hausa Boko haram) from the residents of the city of Maiduguri, in which Yusuf built a religious complex that included a mosque and a school. “Boko Haram” translates to “Western education is forbidden” or “Western education is sinful.” Although the stated purpose of the building was to teach religion to children, the complex was used to recruit supporters.

The main goal of the organization is to introduce Sharia law throughout Nigeria and eradicate the Western way of life. According to members of the group, any public and political activity ties associated with Western values ​​should be prohibited, including: voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers, secular education. The government of Nigeria, from Boko Haram's point of view, is "corrupted" by Western ideas and consists of "non-believers", even if the president is technically Muslim, so it must be overthrown and the country must be governed by Sharia law, stricter than what is in force in the northern states of Nigeria.

In 2009, an attempt was made to revolt, the goal of which was to create an Islamic state in the northern part of Nigeria, governed by Sharia law. However, it was suppressed, the Maiduguri base was stormed, and Mohammed Yusuf was arrested by the police and later died under unclear circumstances.

April 14, 2014 - the group kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from the lyceum in locality Chibok (Borno State). The leader of the organization, Abubakar Shekau, explained the attack on the educational institution by saying that “girls should leave school and get married. On August 21, the group’s fighters captured the city of Buni Yadi (Yobe). At the same time, the group announced the creation of a caliphate on the territory under its control.

By early 2015, Boko Haram had captured an area in the northeast the size of Belgium. However, over the following months, as a result of a military operation by Nigerian forces, supported foreign mercenaries and troops from neighboring countries inflicted serious damage on the terrorists.

The bulk of Boko Haram militants are representatives of the Kanuri people; Despite frequent forays outside the Kanuri ethnic territory, attempts to gain a foothold in them were unsuccessful. Due to the incomprehensibility of the Kanuri language for most Nigerians, the Hausa and Fulani languages ​​are widely used in the movement.

On this moment The group operates in addition to Nigeria in parts of Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Characteristic feature This organization is characterized by excessive cruelty and bloodthirstiness; as a result of the actions of Boko Haram, according to rough estimates, about 20,000 people were killed and about 2.3 million more people were forced to flee their homes. Estimates of the group's size vary widely. Most sources estimate it to be between 7-10 thousand people, but there are also more radical estimates: up to 15 thousand.

Sources of financing are generally quite classic: kidnappings, human trafficking, drug trafficking. In addition, the group is believed to receive funding from a number of corrupt elites who use its capabilities for their own purposes.

Boko Haram was traditionally thought to have close ties to al-Qaeda* in the Maghreb and al-Shabaab*, but in March 2015 they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State*, changing their name to " West African province of the Islamic State"(Islamic State's West Africa Province, ISWAP).

A number of factors make it difficult to combat this group. Along with the classic problems for Africa in building a state, overcoming ethnic disunity, total poverty and lack of education of the population, there are also global trends in the growing popularity of radical Islam. All this is superimposed on the deplorable picture for Nigeria of falling oil prices, which practically neutralizes the ability of the corrupt and weakened state mechanism for active, organized resistance.

Although, it must be said, among analysts there are already for a long time There is a simmering debate as to why Nigeria's large army was so weak, especially in contrast to its soldiers playing a major role in the retaliatory strikes in West Africa in civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

It is believed that the Boko Haram militants are opposed by approximately 35 thousand troops from 4 states (Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon). But despite the significant numerical advantage, these forces are clearly insufficient. Also, in March 2015, the African Union supported the creation of a regional association to fight Boko Haram, numbering more than eight thousand people.

By 햄방이 - Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39805121

The United States also has limited participation in the fight against Boko Haram. A small contingent of troops is stationed in Cameroon, and several dozen Green Berets (US Army special operations forces) are sent to Chad and Nigeria to train the armed forces of these countries. The UK provides approximately the same level of assistance.

There is no consensus regarding the global danger of Boko Haram for the entire continent (in the context of the general Islamization of Africa). On the one hand, a geographically isolated and underdeveloped group from sub-Saharan Africa is unlikely to directly threaten countries outside its region.

On the other hand, the continent is simply dotted with pockets of instability and rotting ulcers of Islamic terrorism, and if you try to simply mothball the situation, at one point it may be too late. The lack of strong players in this field also adds to the pessimism. Ironically, what were once the most developed and powerful states on the continent are themselves the sources of the greatest danger. Libya, torn apart - the epicenter of instability in the Maghreb, Egypt - is mired in the fight with the Muslim Brotherhood and militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Nigeria - was unable to cope with its own demons, and South Africa is no longer the powerful "African Lion" that amazed the world economically. height.

*Organizations are recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia

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