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Anthony Ufoh

Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) are locked in a supremacy struggle, and recently, the two proscribed organisations have intensified efforts to eliminate each other.

Both terrorist groups operate within the northern part of Nigeria and Chad as they wreak carnage against innocent civilians, irrespective of religious affiliations.

According to reports from Zagazola Makama, a security and counterinsurgency expert on his X account (formerly Twitter), he stated that the Boko Haram group successfully ousted ISWAP from their strongholds.

He wrote,” In recent months, Boko Haram had successfully overpowered ISWAP in several of their strongholds, inflicting significant losses.

“However, ISWAP appears to have regrouped and regained momentum, launching a series of renewed and more sophisticated offensives.

 “Intelligence sources indicate that ISWAP’s resurgence may have been aided by the involvement of foreign mercenaries operating within the Lake Chad region a factor that has shifted the balance of power between the two rival groups.

“ The mercenaries helped ISWAP to deploy the use of armed drones to attack Boko Haram positions.

“In a significant development, ISWAP fighters recently extended their operations to the Mandara Mountains and many parts of Sambisa Forest, an area historically dominated by Boko Haram, marking the first time they have carried the fight deep into the Mandara strategic terrain.

“The renewed clashes will continue to escalate in the coming weeks with no end in sight,” he concluded.

Recently, the US President Donald Trump has made a statement about the activities of these terrorist groups, including Fulani Herdsmen, and the Lakurawa committing ‘Genocide’ against Christians in Nigeria on his X account, and he threatened to intervene militarily if the Nigerian Government fails to handle the situation.